Trump Admin Makes Concession After Lawsuit Filed in Washington, D.C.
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The Trump administration and District of Columbia attorneys agreed Friday to partially scale back U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's order placing the city's police force under federal control, preserving the authority of the D.C. police chief rather than handing full command to DEA Administrator Terry Cole.
Earlier Friday, the nation's capital filed a lawsuit to block Republican President Donald Trump's takeover of its police department. Chief Pamela Smith will now remain in control of the Metro Police Department (MPD), but the Trump administration will still be able to use MPD officers for federal purposes on an emergency basis, according to ABC 7 News' Tom Roussey.
Speaking to reporters, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, standing alongside Mayor Muriel Bowser, both Democrats, said he was grateful a judge affirmed that under the Home Rule Act, only the mayor can appoint the chief of police, adding, "the chief of police remains the chief of police."
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UPI
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- UPI
Zelensky to meet with Trump after U.S. stance shifts to end war
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet with the media after a summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. Photo by Bob Strong/UPI | License Photo Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with President Donald Trump on Monday in the White House after the U.S. president and Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't reach a deal Friday on a cease-fire. Trump's stance shifted to an end to the 3 1/2-year-old war that began with Russia's invasion of the sovereign nation. The two leaders and their aides met for 3 1/2 hours in Anchorage, Alaska. Besides speaking with Zelensky, Trump also briefed European leaders on his trip back to Washington, D.C. "It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post at 4:46 a.m. Saturday. Trump confirmed a person-to-person meeting with Zelensky. "President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon," Trump wrote. "If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people's lives will be saved." "The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO," he said. Zelensky earlier posted on X, he will meet with Trump "to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war. I am grateful for the invitation. It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America." Zelensky noted he had a "a long and substantive conversation with @POTUS. We started with one-on-one talks before inviting European leaders to join us. This call lasted for more than an hour and a half, including about an hour of our bilateral conversation with President Trump. Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace." In a follow-up post on X, Zelenskly said "following a conversation with President Trump, we further coordinated positions with European leaders. The positions are clear. A real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions. Killings must stop as soon as possible, the fire must cease both on the battlefield and in the sky, as well as against our port infrastructure. All Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians must be released, and the children abducted by Russia must be returned. Thousands of our people remain in captivity -- they all must be brought home. Pressure on Russia must be maintained while the aggression and occupation continue." Putin described the summit in Alaska as a "starting point for resolution" but warned that Ukraine and Europe must not "sabotage" talks. Zelensky was not invited to the summit with the two leaders. "We support President Trump's proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the USA, and Russia," Zelensky wrote. "Ukraine emphasizes that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this." On Friday, Trump said "there's no deal until there's a deal" to end the war in Ukraine that started when Russia invaded the sovereign nation. Speaking with reporters on Friday in Alaska, Trump and Putin noted they discussed security during their 3 1/2-hour meeting. "As I've said, the situation in Ukraine has to do with fundamental threats to our security," Putin said. "I agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well. Naturally, we have prepared to work on that." European nations, in a statement, wrote about the need for Ukraine to have "ironclad security guarantees" with "no limitations should be placed on Ukraine's armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries. Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine's pathway to EU and NATO." Putin and Trump spoke to reporters for a total of 12 minutes and took no questions. They also didn't mention whether Russia or Ukraine will give up acquired land. But when asked later in person by Sean Hannity on Fox News whether they agreed on a land swap, Trump said "those are points that we negotiated and those are points that we largely have agreed on. Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they'll say no." Trump didn't talk about a land swap in his social media post on Saturday but mentioned sanctions. "In my conversation with President Trump, I said that sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war," Trump wrote. "Sanctions are an effective tool. Security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with the involvement of both Europe and the U.S. All issues important to Ukraine must be discussed with Ukraine's participation, and no issue, particularly territorial ones, can be decided without Ukraine." After the summit, European nations issued a statement. "As President Trump said 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' As envisioned by President Trump, the next step must now be further talks, including President Zelenskyy, whom he will meet soon." The statement was signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, French President Emmanuel Macron. Italian Prime Minister Giogia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Macron said a "coalition of the willing," who are Ukraine's main European allies, will meet Sunday by video conference. An European official told CNN they spoke about an "Article-5 type" of security agreement with Ukraine but no involvement from NATO. Article 5 is a collective defense treaty of the NATO alliance countries if a nation is attacked. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an ally of Putin and supported by Trump, said the "world is a safer place today" after the summit. "For years, we have watched the two largest nuclear powers calculate the framework of their cooperation and send messages to each other. It's over with now," Orban wrote on Facebook on Saturday. In a statement after the meeting, Putin said he is "sincerely interested" in putting an end to the war in Ukraine. Fighting continues Even during the summit in Alaska, there was no let-up in fighting in eastern Ukraine as Russia and Ukraine sent drones in each other's territory. Zelensky posted on X that "based on the political and diplomatic situation around Ukraine, and knowing Russia's treachery, we anticipate that in the coming days the Russian army may try to increase pressure and strikes against Ukrainian positions in order to create more favorable political circumstances for talks with global actors." Late Friday, Ukraine's military said Russian troops were cleared from several settlements near Pokrovsdk after Russian earlier advanced there. The military said that "stabilization operations in the Dobropillia direction continue," referring to a town on a significant highway for resupplying Ukrainian troops in Pokrovsk, which is surrounded on three sides. Ukraine's Air Force said Russia fired 85 Shahed drones and one ballistic missile at 12 locations overnight and four people were reported to have died. The Russian Defense Ministry said 29 Ukrainian drones were shot down into Saturday over regions that included 10 intercepted over the Rostov region. "We are documenting the movement and preparations of Russian troops. Of course, we will counteract, if necessary, asymmetrically. I asked the Commander-in-Chief to speak with combat commanders. Ukraine needs strong positions and truly tangible resistance to the enemy," Zelensky posted on X. Summit reaction The summit was roundly criticized except by U.S. leaders and the Kremlin. The Kyiv Independent in an editorial said the summit was "Sickening. Shameful. And in the end, useless." Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of Ukraine's parliament, posted Friday on Telegram that "it seems that Putin has gained more time. No cease-fire or de-escalation has been agreed upon." Yaroslav Zheleznyak, also a member of Ukraine's parliament, wrote that "it seems we have witnessed another grand and beautiful American nothingness." European leaders also reacted negatively. Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene, in a post on X, accused Putin of "more gaslighting and veiled threats." That was a reference to the Russian leader warning Ukraine and Europe not to "sabotage" progress made at the summit. Sakaliene called Putin a "war criminal with an addiction of radioactive poisoning of his critics addresses the US President with 'Very good to see you in good health and to see you alive. "If Putin were serious about negotiating peace, he would not have been attacking Ukraine all day today," she said. The Kremlin looked at the meeting differently. "The US-Russia summit in Alaska has definitely been productive," Russia's top economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev said.
Politico
a few seconds ago
- Politico
West Virginia deploys hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington
The Trump administration has clashed with D.C. officials, as his administration tries to assert further control over the nation's capital. The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) agents walk on patrol in Washington on Friday. |By Ben Johansen 08/16/2025 11:35 AM EDT West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Saturday that, at the request of the Trump administration, he will deploy hundreds from his state's National Guard to Washington, D.C. 'West Virginia is proud to stand with President [Donald] Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation's capital,' the governor said in a press release. 'The men and women of our National Guard represent the best of our state, and this mission reflects our shared commitment to a strong and secure America.' Trump has fixated on crime in Washington in the last week, deploying the National Guard on Monday and invoking for the first time ever a provision of the Home Rule Act — the 1970s law that grants the District limited self-governance — for what the administration described as a takeover of the city's police force, despite violent crime declining in the city.
Fox News
3 minutes ago
- Fox News
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