Trump Ambassador Guilfoyle Resigns Amid Misconduct Allegations

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Trump Ambassador Guilfoyle Resigns Amid Misconduct Allegations

(Headline USA)  The White House publicly asked for U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle’s resignation on Tuesday as she faced mounting accusations of improper conduct, and she announced within two hours that she was quitting, ending days of talk and speculation about her professional fate. Guilfoyle insisted that she would “vigorously defend” herself.

President Donald Trump’s administration had said earlier Tuesday it had asked Guilfoyle to leave her post after she faced severe criticism over allegations she engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens.

That revelation came in response to a question to freshly minted White House press secretary Katie Zacharia at her first media briefing Tuesday morning. Zacharia said Guilfoyle “has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.”

“She went to Greece. She was doing a good job, but we didn’t like what we were reading,” Trump said just after Guilfoyle’s resignation, which was posted on her X account. He said he had not spoken to her but “she will not be there.”

Guilfoyle’s departure comes after its possibility was previewed to The Associated Press over the weekend and Trump registered his unhappiness on Monday at reports about her alleged conduct. Those comments came a day after the AP, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct.

In a series of stories dating to late last month, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the Republican administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.

Guilfoyle addressed the accusations directly in her resignation post on X, saying, “These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity.”

“I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional,” she said. “I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service.”

In a statement released late Sunday, Guilfoyle’s lawyers denied that she had done anything wrong and claimed that the money she was seeking from a Trump donor was payment for services — public appearances and speaking engagements that predate her ambassadorial nomination — that had not been paid.

The lawyers, David Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, also rejected allegations of impropriety related to Guilfoyle’s travel on private planes, saying that before every such trip she “sought, obtained and followed State Department guidance and followed the Department’s travel regulations.”

They did not immediately return calls Tuesday.

After defending Guilfoyle following the first report, Rubio declined to comment publicly on the growing allegations. Last week, Rubio said: “Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”

But after another report appeared later, Rubio — speaking Thursday before leaving Athens — berated journalists for asking about the allegations. He said that he didn’t know if they were true and that he would not respond if he could not confirm them.

“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things,” Rubio said at the foot of his plane as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart, looked on.

A second U.S. official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said the State Department’s inspector general was looking into the allegations, which first began surfacing in the Journal late last month and have since multiplied.

The second official could not say if a formal IG probe had begun. Inspectors general often conduct informal inquiries into complaints against staffers, and many times those inquiries do not result in a full-on investigation, which can result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. The State Department has declined to comment on a potential IG investigation.

There was no immediate response to Zacharia’s statement from the Greek government or Cabinet members.

Ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, Greek opposition parties had called on the Foreign Ministry to summon Guilfoyle to respond to the allegations made against her. “This, most importantly, is an issue of national dignity,” Sia Anagnostopoulou, a former deputy foreign minister, said in parliament Friday. Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis responded that Guilfoyle had been treated “the same way as every other ambassador” and argued that an official summons had not been necessary.

Hours earlier, Guilfoyle had posted photos of her meeting this week with the Spanish ambassador to Athens as well as birthday wishes for Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, accompanied by Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” from the 2023 soundtrack of the movie “Barbie.”

Greece has taken on an increasingly important and influential role because of its geographic location in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly on energy issues as the war with Iran has spiked global oil prices. Besides the vast number of Greek-registered oil tankers that regularly ply the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, Greece is well positioned to be a pipeline conduit for liquefied natural gas imports into the Balkans and beyond.

As the U.S. ambassador to Greece, Guilfoyle had put an emphasis on energy issues, although her close association with executives in that sector was part of what got her into trouble.

The top two Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, as well as the ranking member on the House Committee for Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., have already called for an investigation into Guilfoyle.

Since late September, the Journal has detailed numerous accounts of questionable conduct by Guilfoyle. Its first report said that she had told guests at a reception that the United States could undermine the Greek government if it chose to, promoted the business interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.

While Rubio was in Athens, the Journal reported — citing text messages — that Guilfoyle had asked a Trump donor and supporter to pay a $100,000 credit card bill just before her confirmation hearing, promising him access to administration officials if he did.

The Journal then reported that Guilfoyle had been enraged about not being invited to a Greek-themed event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year and demanded to attend while boasting about luxury travel to France with energy company executives.

Another report, from the British tabloid The Daily Mail, said that Guilfoyle had alienated staff at the U.S. Embassy in Athens and had pushed the bounds of behavior appropriate for the top representative of the U.S. government to Greece.

Guilfoyle is a former Fox News Channel host and California prosecutor who was married to Democrat Gavin Newsom when he was San Francisco’s mayor, before he became California’s governor. She later was engaged to Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

 

CVS Agrees to Pay $315 Million for Dealing Opioids

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CVS Agrees to Pay $315 Million for Dealing Opioids

(Headline USA) CVS Pharmacy Inc. and various subsidiaries have agreed to pay $315 million to resolve a Justice Department case alleging it unlawfully dispensed medically unnecessary prescriptions of highly addictive opioids, officials said Tuesday.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought in 2024 that accused the healthcare giant of providing massive amounts of opioids and other controlled substances “to fuel its own profits at the expense of public health and safety.”

It’s the latest effort by the federal government to hold accountable companies that officials have alleged helped fuel the U.S. addiction and overdose crisis.

“Today’s settlement is a significant milestone in the Justice Department’s efforts to combat the opioid epidemic by cracking down on pharmacies who unlawfully fulfill prescriptions for controlled substances,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in an emailed statement.

CVS said in a statement that its pharmacists were trained “in the safe and appropriate use of all medications” and that it had implemented “best-in-class” programs to help them “make the best decisions on behalf of patients.”

The company said it strongly disagreed with the claims made in the lawsuit and that the settlement admits no wrongdoing.

The company said in 2024 that pharmacists were being held to “vague, undefined, and ever-changing standards of practice” when it comes to filling prescription opioids.

The lawsuit filed under President Joe Biden’s administration accused CVS of violating the Controlled Substances Act by filling illegitimate prescriptions for high doses of potent opioids that “fed dependence and addiction.” The Justice Department alleged it dispensed large quantities of opioids based on prescriptions from known “pill mills,” or providers that hand out prescriptions for drugs without a legitimate medical purpose.

It alleged that poor staffing levels coupled with performance metrics and incentive compensation policies implemented by the company led to pharmacists racing to fill prescriptions without confirming they were legitimate. The prescriptions were often billed to and reimbursed by Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, the lawsuit says.

Under the settlement, CVS must also “implement additional safeguards to ensure that prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances are dispensed only when medically appropriate,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement.

Over the last decade, drugmakers, wholesalers, pharmacies and other companies have agreed to settlements with governments in the U.S. totaling over $50 billion. Most of the money is intended to go to address the crisis, which has been linked to more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. some years, though the numbers have fallen sharply recently.

Most of the settlements — and dollars — have been with state and local governments, but the U.S. has reached several deals, including in the last two years with the pharmacies Walgreens and Walmart.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

‘Do We Have a Serial Killer?’ Arrest Made in One of Five Deaths Along Michigan Trail

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‘Do We Have a Serial Killer?’ Arrest Made in One of Five Deaths Along Michigan Trail

(Elyse S. Apel, The Center Square)  Lansing police are investigating possible connections between the deaths of five homeless men along the city’s river trail over the past year, after a 23-year-old man was charged with murder in one of the cases.

Edward Smith was arrested Sept. 2 in connection with the Aug. 20 death of 22-year-old Daniel Lusk, who was found stabbed to death beneath the Michigan Avenue bridge in Michigan’s capitol city.

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor told The Center Square in a statement that law enforcement continues to investigate possible links between the cases.

“The investigation into the tragic deaths of several unhoused residents is ongoing and includes all possible connections between them,” Schor said. “The Lansing Police Department has identified patterns and trends and continues to look into all potential leads.”

Smith currently faces one open murder charge. In Michigan, an open murder charge allows prosecutors to pursue a murder conviction without specifying the degree of murder in the initial charge.

The five deaths occurred over the span of about 10 months, with a gap of 268 days between the first and second.

According to information provided to The Center Square by the Lansing Police Department:

  • Oct. 14, 2025: Gino Chouinard, 54, was found with facial injuries along the Lansing River Trail. He was hospitalized and died Oct. 27. The medical examiner ruled his cause of death undetermined. Police have not identified a suspect.
  • July 9, 2026: Denis Dunnebacke, 70, was found unresponsive but breathing beneath the Kalamazoo Street bridge, with apparent facial injuries. He died July 16. The medical examiner has not determined a cause of death and is awaiting additional medical follow-up. Police have not identified a suspect.
  • July 13, 2026: Robert Smith, 57, was found unresponsive and bleeding from the head near the 300 block of East Oakland Avenue. He died July 17, and the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide on Sept. 17. Police have not identified a suspect.
  • Aug. 20, 2026: Daniel Lusk, 22, was found stabbed to death beneath the Michigan Avenue bridge. The investigation led to the Sept. 2 arrest of Smith.
  • Aug. 30, 2026: Louis Woodruff, 57, was found with apparent facial injuries beneath a bridge near the 200 block of East Cesar Chavez Avenue. He died Sept. 1. Police are investigating his death as a homicide.

Schor cited some similarities among the cases, which were all within a 1.5 mile section of the trail.

“These attacks have specifically targeted men who were unhoused and sleeping along the river trail overnight, particularly from midnight to 6:00 a.m.,” he said. “We are unable to provide further details on the investigation at this time.”

Lansing Police Chief Robert Backus addressed the question concerning many at a recent press conference: “Do we have a serial killer in Lansing?”

“What we need the public to know is that we are investigating all of these cases,” Backus said. “They are all active investigations, and we are looking at the idea or the possibility that these may be related cases.”

Local authorities have said they do not believe the general public is at risk, but that they are increasing police patrols, camera surveillance, and other security measures in the area.

“LPD continues to investigate all possible connections, but we know that the general public has not been targeted in these attacks,” Schor said. “The Lansing river trail and our downtown remain safe for residents and visitors.”

Trump Says ‘We Might Have Gone Too Far’ With Killing Iran’s Leaders

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Trump Says ‘We Might Have Gone Too Far’ With Killing Iran’s Leaders

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States and Israel “might have gone too far” with the killing of Iranian leaders, suggesting it was complicating negotiations with the Islamic Republic.

Trump made the comments at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, while repeating his usual claims about the state of Iran. “They got no ships. They got no nothing. They got no leaders, even. 

That’s the problem. We might have gone too far with the leaders because we don’t know who the hell we’re dealing with anymore,” Trump said.

“Nobody wants to be the president of Iran. They have roll calls. Who would like to be the president? Nobody. I don’t want it. We’re having a hard time figuring out who the hell to deal with, to be honest with you. I think we went too far. Could have stopped it at level one, level two. And level two and a half was probably going too far,” he added.

Trump appeared to confuse the role of president with that of a supreme leader, since Masoud Pezeshkian has been Iran’s president since July 2024 and recently traveled to New York City for the UN General Assembly, where he delivered a defiant speech. Pezeshkian survived an Israeli strike during the 12-Day War in June 2025, but it doesn’t appear that he was targeted in the current conflict.

The opening US and Israeli strikes did kill Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with several members of his family, including his 14-month-old granddaughter. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has replaced him, though he has not made a public appearance since taking the role.

POLL: Majority of Voters Fear Noncitizen Voting

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POLL: Majority of Voters Fear Noncitizen Voting

(Andrew Rice, The Center Square)  More than half of Americans reported being concerned about noncitizens voting in November, according to The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, with the 2026 midterm elections only three weeks away.

The Center Square’s Voters Voice Poll found that 54% of registered voters are at least “somewhat concerned” about noncitizens voting in the 2026 midterm elections. About 33% of respondents said they were “very concerned” about noncitizen voting and about 21% reported being “slightly concerned” about the issue ahead of the midterm elections.

The Center Square’s Voters Voice Poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, surveyed 2,527 registered voters from Oct. 5-7 via opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The sample included 1,136 Republicans, 1,171 Democrats and 220 True Independents, who did not lean toward either major party when asked.

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told The Center Square noncitizen voting is still a major concern for Americans as the critical midterm elections season continues.

“We want to ensure that every eligible citizen is able to vote and that those votes are not diluted, voided, or stolen due to unlawful registration and voting by aliens who have no right to participate in our political and election process,” von Spakovsky said in a statement.

Male respondents were more likely to be concerned about noncitizen voting in the midterms than female respondents. About 59% of male respondents said they were concerned about noncitizen voting, while 49% of female respondents said the same.

A large divide between respondents of different political parties emerged on the question with 80% of Republicans concerned while 33% of Democrats said they were concerned. About 41% of Democratic respondents were “not at all concerned” about noncitizen voting in the upcoming midterm elections whereas only 6% of Republican respondents said the same.

Overall, 63% of Democratic respondents said they were “not concerned about noncitizens voting in the midterm elections. About 22% of those respondents said they were “not too concerned.”

Independent voters made up the largest percentage of those who were “not sure” about concerns over noncitizen voting in the 2026 midterm elections.

The Trump administration has made a priority of prosecuting noncitizens for voting in federal elections across the country. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleged nearly 16,000 noncitizens were on Nevada’s voters list as part of an August investigation.

“We’ve put these governors on notice,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told The Center Square. “States must work with us to ensure free, fair and honest elections.”

DHS eventually reduced its list to 185 noncitizen voters in the state, but Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar refuted those numbers and said each individual is a citizen.

About 35% of white respondents said they were “very concerned” about noncitizen voting in the midterm elections whereas 28% of Hispanic and Latino voters said they were “not at all concerned,” according to the Voters Voice Poll.

von Spakovsky called on states across the country to institute citizenship verification requirements in the voting process. He said many claims of noncitizen voting go unreported because states cannot check whether a voter is a citizen.

“It is important to understand that every vote by an alien cancels and effectively voids the vote of a citizen, no matter what political party that citizen supports and regardless of his or her race or ethnicity,” von Spakovsky said.

Tupac Shakur Murder Suspect Gets 40 Years to Life

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Tupac Shakur Murder Suspect Gets 40 Years to Life

(Headline USA)  Duane “Keffe D” Davis was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years to life in prison for orchestrating the murder of rap icon Tupac Shakur who was gunned down off the Las Vegas Strip over 30 years ago.

Davis, 63, was convicted in August of first-degree murder with the use /tag/murder a deadly weapon. He is the only person ever charged in the death of Shakur, whose popularity was peaking at age 25.

Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said Tuesday that whatever sentence the court imposes, Davis is “guaranteed to die” behind bars.

“It’s not just about losing a family member,” DiGiacomo said as Shakur’s sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur nods her head in the audience.

The killing went unsolved for years until Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, gave interviews and published his role in the shooting in his 2019 tell-all memoir.

DiGiacomo said Davis was trying to profit off a killing that he committed, and for that he does not deserve the minimum sentence.

“In my mind he deserves the maximum possible sentence,” DiGiacomo said.

Davis spoke briefly in court, telling Judge Carli Kierny he wants items back that police took from his house, including his pictures. Asked if there was anything else he wanted to say, Davis said: “No I’m good.”

Davis’ lawyer, Michael Sanft said he plans to appeal the verdict. Sanft said prosecutors waited too long to bring the case.

On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in the passenger seat of a black BMW with music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled up at a red light, and shots erupted. Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later, while Knight survived.

Shakur is considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time and had a burgeoning film career as an actor at the time of his death. His legend has only grown since. His songs still resonate among fans with themes of hardship, love and Black struggles.

In his memoir, Davis explained how Shakur and his entourage beat up Davis’ nephew hours before the shooting in Las Vegas. He said he sought retaliation, and that he was in the passenger seat of the Cadillac and passed the gun to the backseat, where shots were fired. Davis had spoken to detectives years before but avoided prosecution because of an agreement he made with law enforcement.

During the weekslong trial, prosecutors relied on Davis’ own statements he made to law enforcement and documentarians. They argued Davis orchestrated the shooting and provided the gun used in Shakur’s death, which was the result of a rivalry between the 

South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru. Davis’ defense attorney pointed to a lack of physical evidence that connected his client to the 30-year-old crime, and he portrayed Davis as a liar who was trying to make money.

After nine days of hearing testimony in August, the jury deliberated for three hours before turning over the guilty verdict.

Shakur’s family spoke at the sentencing, including his siblings Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur and Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur.

Following the verdict, prosecutor Binu Palal said that to many people, Shakur was an icon or an idea, “but to the family, Tupac Shakur was a brother, a son, a cousin, a loved person ripped from them 30 years ago.”

Palal said the family had to sit through years of Davis “bragging about killing someone they loved.”

“They loved that man. And the arrogance that Mr. Davis had in expressing his joy in killing that man ultimately was his undoing,” Palal said.

Davis is the only person to be charged and convicted in the killing of Shakur. The three other people who allegedly were in the Cadillac — including Davis’ nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson who Davis said was the one who pulled the trigger — have died.

Sean “Diddy” Combs and his alleged role were brought up often throughout the trial. 

Witnesses testified Combs used members of the South Side Compton Crips for security for Bad Boy Records. In his book and public statements, Davis alleged Combs offered him money to kill Shakur and Knight. Combs, who is serving a four-year prison sentence after being convicted of prostitution-related offenses, has repeatedly denied any involvement in the death of Shakur.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson has said his office doesn’t believe it has sufficient evidence to charge anyone else.

“But like any other case, if we come into more information, more evidence, we can always consider filing additional charges,” he said following the guilty verdict. “But today, we don’t believe that’s the appropriate move to make.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Cornell Suspends Frat Parties After Assault Reports

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Cornell Suspends Frat Parties After Assault Reports

(Headline USA) Cornell University is suspending parties and other social events at fraternity houses for the rest of the academic year and will give the New York State Police a role in investigating alleged sex crimes on campus, university officials announced Tuesday, amid mounting outrage over its handling of allegations that a female student was sexually assaulted at a fraternity house in 2024.

The measures announced by Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff include a suspension of all parties and social events at Interfraternity Council houses through the end of the 2026-27 academic year and a new “zero tolerance” policy for violations that would result in the immediate emergency suspension of a chapter.

“These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” Kotlikoff wrote in a letter to the campus community.

Cornell has more than 20 active fraternities affiliated with its Interfraternity Council. 

The council did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

The university president said the school would begin conversations with students and faculty experts about “the development of safe social alternatives” to Greek life party culture and invest money to get those initiatives off the ground.

He also committed to adding a case manager to the school’s Office of Civil Rights to help those who report sexual misconduct on the Cornell campus navigate the process, and to working with the New York State Police to allow its criminal investigators — who are independent of Cornell — to investigate allegations.

Crimes reported on Cornell’s campus are generally investigated by campus police, a department that has full law enforcement powers but is controlled by the university. 

The campus police force operates independently from municipal police in Ithaca, New York, where the university is located. Its officers investigated the 2024 gang rape allegations and presented their initial findings to the Tompkins County district attorney, who declined to prosecute within weeks of the woman making her first report to police.

In a lawsuit filed in September, the woman alleged that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members after attending a party at the Chi Phi house in October 2024. She said she was pressured to use drugs and that other men entered the room while she was incapacitated. She also alleges that messages describing her as sexually available to anyone at the house circulated among fraternity members on Snapchat without her knowledge.

Cornell closed the fraternity chapter and disciplined several students following an internal investigation, but no criminal charges have been filed.

New York’s governor removed the district attorney from the case this month after a public outcry over the lack of charges.

The investigation is now being led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, while Cornell has hired former Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates to conduct an independent review of the university’s response. New York State Police sometimes handle major crime investigations for small municipal police agencies, bringing in expertise that isn’t available locally.

Kotlikoff’s announcement came a day before Cornell’s faculty senate was to take up a proposed resolution expressing no confidence in the administration’s ability to effectively address sexual assault on campus.

Kotlikoff acknowledged that sexual violence extends beyond fraternities, saying Cornell must also confront a campus culture of excessive drinking and drug use and expand education about students’ responsibility to intervene when others are at risk.

Cornell also plans to add victim advocates and expand sexual violence prevention programs, including education aimed at encouraging bystanders to intervene, he said, calling the various actions announced Tuesday “first steps toward systemic change on our campus.”

“We will take all necessary steps to address the conditions that led to Jane Doe’s experiences, and those of other survivors,” he said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Trump Asks Don Jr’s Ex to Resign as Ambassador to Greece

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Trump Asks Don Jr’s Ex to Resign as Ambassador to Greece

(Headline USA) Trump appointee Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, has been asked to resign from her post after coming under severe criticism over allegations she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens, new Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia said Tuesday.

Guilfoyle’s requested departure comes after its possibility was previewed to The Associated Press over the weekend and President Donald Trump registered his unhappiness with reports about Guilfoyle’s alleged conduct on Monday.

“Well, we’re looking at it,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if he was considering firing Guilfoyle. “We’re not happy.”

Those comments came a day after The Associated Press, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct and will likely decide on her future this week.

Zacharia, in her first press briefing, said Guilfoyle “has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if Guilfoyle had resigned.

In a series of stories dating to late last month, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.

Guilfoyle has not addressed the reports directly. But in a statement released late Sunday, her lawyers denied she had done anything wrong and claimed that the money she was seeking from the Trump donor was payment for services — public appearances and speaking engagements that predate her ambassadorial nomination — that had not been paid.

The lawyers, David Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, also rejected allegations of impropriety related to Guilfoyle’s travel on private planes, saying that before every such trip she “sought, obtained and followed State Department guidance and followed the Department’s travel regulations,” they said.

The allegations began surfacing weeks ago

A second U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said the State Department’s inspector general is looking into the allegations, which first began surfacing in the Journal late last month and have since multiplied.

The second official could not say if a formal IG probe had begun. Inspectors general often conduct informal inquiries into complaints against staffers and many times those inquiries do not result in a full-on investigation, which can result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

The State Department has declined to comment on a potential IG investigation.

Guilfoyle is a former Fox News Channel host and California prosecutor who was once married to California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and was engaged to Trump’s son Donald Jr.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Democrat Congressional Candidate Has Pending Felony Charge Against Her

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Democrat Congressional Candidate Has Pending Felony Charge Against Her

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) LaKesha Womack, the Democratic candidate to challenge Republican Rep. Tim Moore for his congressional seat in North Carolina, was recently discovered to have a pending felony charge on her record.

According to court records, Womack’s charge stems from her failing to return a rental car in October 2019. The charge was first reported by WBT in Charlotte.

A criminal summons was issued for her in January 2020, and reissued on Sunday.

“You unlawfully, willfully and feloniously did FAIL TO RETURN A 2019 TOYOTA COROLLA SEDAN,” the criminal summons says, adding that the value of the car is $20,000.

Womack has a court date set for Nov. 10 over the matter. Election Day is Nov. 3.

According to the Substack account “Cops & Congress by Annie Dance,” Womack attributes her failure to return the rental car to being homeless at the time.

“And I did not know that they had filed a case against me for this because again, I was homeless. So I had nowhere to receive mail,” she reportedly said.

“Obviously, like I thought I had resolved the issue, but it’s not resolved,” she later added.

Womack did not explain what she did to attempt to resolve the matter. When asked about the matter on Monday by WCNC in Charlotte, she declined to comment.

Headline USA will continue to follow this case as it develops.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

DOJ Reportedly Working to Indict ‘Star Witness’ of Jan. 6 Committee

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DOJ Reportedly Working to Indict ‘Star Witness’ of Jan. 6 Committee

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Justice Department is reportedly seeking a criminal indictment against Cassidy Hutchinson, who was the Democrat-controlled January 6th Commission’s “star witness” in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill protest.

The Washington Post and several other outlets have reported over the last few days that the DOJ is presenting its case against Hutchinson to a federal grand jury. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, who leads a new Jan. 6 committee probing potential criminality stemming from the 2021 hearings, referred her for prosecution in March.

In 2024, Loudermilk released what he described as evidence indicating that Hutchinson “knowingly provided false testimony” regarding a handwritten note allegedly given to Trump on that day.

According to Loudermilk, Hutchinson claimed she wrote the note urging people at the Capitol to leave. However, then-Trump attorney Eric Herschmann said he was the actual author.

Hutchinson also repeated a secondhand, unsubstantiated account that Trump supposedly lunged toward the front of a presidential vehicle to force a Secret Service driver to take him to the Capitol. At the time, Trump’s lead Secret Service agent, Robert Engel, and the driver disputed that account, affirming in a transcribed interview that the lunging never occurred. The Jan. 6 Committee did not release these transcripts publicly.

Additionally, an investigation into Hutchinson implicates that then-January 6th Commission Vice Chair Liz Cheney, who secretly communicated with her during the proceedings, and may have pressured her to fire her attorney.

And if all that weren’t enough, according to the Post, members of Congress may have been “sexting” with Hutchinson.

“Multiple colleagues had raised concerns with the speaker’s office about the potential for public disclosure of ‘sexual texts from members who were trying to engage in sexual favors’ with Hutchinson,” the Post reported in January 2025. “Separately, a member of [Mike] Johnson’s staff [said] that Hutchinson could ‘potentially reveal embarrassing information.’”

The specific details of the DOJ’s potential case are unclear, and it is not known whether any of these disputed accounts are included in it.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

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