Justice Department official suggested ignoring court orders on deportations, whistleblower claims
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Justice Department official suggested the Trump administration might have to ignore court orders as it prepared to deport Venezuelan migrants it accused of being gang members, a fired department lawyer alleged in a whistleblower complaint made public Tuesday.
The filing seeking an investigation into the claims about Principal Assistant Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who is set to face lawmakers Wednesday for his confirmation hearing to become a federal appeals court judge.
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Winnipeg Free Press
26 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
A whirlwind 48 hours: How Trump's Israel-Iran ceasefire agreement came together
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a 48-hour whirlwind, President Donald Trump veered from elated to indignant to triumphant as his fragile Israel-Iran ceasefire agreement came together, teetered toward collapse and ultimately coalesced. Trump, as he worked to seal the deal, publicly harangued the Israelis and Iranians with a level of pique that's notable even for a commander-in-chief who isn't shy about letting the world know what he thinks. The effort was helped along as his aides, and Qatari allies, sensed an opening after what they saw as a half-hearted, face-saving measure by Tehran on Monday to retaliate against the U.S. for strikes against three key nuclear sites. And it didn't hurt that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after 12 days of bombing, could tell the Israeli public that Iran's nuclear program had been diminished 'This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn't, and never will!' Trump declared in a social media post announcing the ceasefire. Netanyahu is less than enthusiastic about Trump's message The agreement began taking shape early Sunday morning, soon after the U.S. military carried out blistering strikes on Iranian nuclear sites that U.S. defense officials said have set back Tehran's nuclear program. Trump directed his team to get Netanyahu on the phone. The president told Netanyahu not to expect further U.S. offensive military action, according to a senior White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the sensitive diplomatic talks. The U.S. president made the case that it was time to stop the war and return to diplomatic negotiations with Iran. Trump also noted that the U.S. had removed any imminent threat posed by Iran, according to the official. For his part, Netanyahu listened to Trump's argument as Israel was nearing its own objectives with Iran, the official said. Netanyahu did not enthusiastically agree, but understood Trump's stance that the U.S. had no desire for additional military involvement. Around the same time, Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke directly with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, telling him to come back to the bargaining table because Iran had seen what the U.S. military could do and that it was capable of doing much more, the official said. Witkoff stressed that the U.S. wanted peace — and Iran should, too. Trump ebullient about Israel-Iran deal prospects Less than 48 hours later, Trump took to his social media platform to announce that a 'Complete and Total CEASEFIRE' had been achieved. The ceasefire was based solely on the end of military hostilities, rather than on additional conditions about Iran's nuclear program or its economic interests. Trump was acting on the belief that Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons had been crippled. But as Trump spoke with confidence about the coming cease-fire, the Israelis and Iranians were notably quiet — neither side publicly commented on what Trump described as a deal that would be phased in over the coming hours. Araghchi spoke out first, acknowledging the wheels were in motion for a deal, but stopping short of saying Iran had signed off. 'As of now, there is NO 'agreement' on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,' Araghchi posted on X. 'However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards.' Commitment from Iran and Israel to Trump's ceasefire remained murky Not long before Trump's announcement, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took to social media to declare that Iran wouldn't surrender. It was unclear what role Khamenei, the ultimate authority in the Islamic Republic's theocracy, had in the deal. And Netanyahu was silent. He would wait more than eight hours after Trump's announcement to confirm that Israel had accepted the ceasefire and that it had achieved its war goals against Iran. Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said ceasefire efforts gained steam after Iran's retaliatory attack on a major U.S. base in the emirate on Monday evening. The Iranians fired 14 missiles at the base — with U.S. and Qatari defense systems knocking down 13. One of the missiles, according to Trump, was ''set free' because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction.' Trump also claimed the Iranians gave the U.S. and Qatar a heads up, allowing the troops to take shelter and the Qataris to clear their typically busy airspace. Qatar plays a key role in the ceasefire talks Iran's restrained direct response to the U.S. bombardment suggested to Trump administration officials that Iran — battered by Israel's 12-day assault — and its degraded proxy groups, including Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Yemen-based Houthis, didn't have the wherewithal to expand the fight. Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had a 'long call' with Trump soon after the Iranian attack on the Al-Ubeid military installation, according to the Qatari prime minister. 'There was an opportunity during this communication to announce a full ceasefire on all fronts, and U.S. authorities asked Qatar to contact Iranian authorities to know how prepared they are for a ceasefire,' the prime minister said. Trump saw the moment as a clear opening The president soon got back in touch with Netanyahu to secure his commitment to end the hostilities, officials said. The prime minister agreed to the ceasefire, as long as there were no further attacks by Iran, the officials said. From there, things moved quickly. Vice President JD Vance was making an appearance on Fox News' 'Special Report' on Monday evening when Trump took to social media to announce the ceasefire deal had been reached and would go into effect over the coming day. The vice president appeared surprised when host Bret Baier told him that Trump had announced a deal had been reached. 'We were actually working on that just as I left the White House to come over here,' Vance said. 'So that's good news that the president was able to get that across the finish line.' But after Trump's announcement, the attacks kept coming. Iran launched a series of strikes on Israel after 4 a.m. local time Tuesday in Tehran, the time that Iran's foreign minister had said Iran would cease its attacks if Israel ended their airstrikes. And the Israeli prime minister's office confirmed that Israel launched a major assault hours ahead of the ceasefire's start, hitting central Tehran. 'We attacked forcefully in the heart of Tehran, hitting regime targets and killing hundreds of Basij and Iranian security forces,' the statement read. Iranian media confirmed nine casualties in the northern Gilan province. 'Four residential buildings were completely destroyed and several neighboring houses were damaged in the blasts.' Fars News Agency reported. A frustrated Trump lashes out Trump, who was scheduled to depart the White House early Tuesday to fly to the Netherlands for the NATO summit, was livid. His frustration was palpable as he spoke to reporters on the White House South Lawn. 'I'm not happy with them. I'm not happy with Iran, either, but I'm really unhappy with Israel going out this morning,' Trump said. 'We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f—- they're doing.' Minutes later, he took to his Truth Social platform to send a warning to Israel. 'ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION,' Trump posted. 'BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!' Trump climbed aboard Air Force One and was soon on the phone with Netanyahu. He did not mince words with the Israeli leader, according to one of the White House officials. Trump was 'exceptionally firm and direct' with Netanyahu 'about what needed to happen to sustain the ceasefire.' Netanyahu got the message. His office confirmed that the Israeli leader held off tougher action after the appeal from Trump and 'refrained from additional attacks.' After the call, Trump once again took to social media to declare the ceasefire was 'in effect. ' 'ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran,' Trump declared. 'All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly 'Plane Wave' to Iran, Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!' The president went on to spend a considerable chunk of his flight celebrating what his administration is calling a signal achievement. 'It was my great honor to Destroy All Nuclear facilities & capability, and then, STOP THE WAR!' ___ AP writers Darlene Superville, Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed reporting.
Winnipeg Free Press
26 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cubs minor league pitcher Anhuar Garcia suspended 60 games for positive drug test
NEW YORK (AP) — Chicago Cubs pitcher Anhuar Garcia was suspended for 60 games Tuesday by Major League Baseball under the minor league drug program following a positive test for the performance-enhancing substance Methenolone. A 21-year-old right-hander, Garcia was 1-3 with a 5.91 ERA in six starts and one relief appearance this year for the Arizona Complex League Cubs. He signed with the Cubs on Dec. 15 for a $10,000 bonus. Garcia is the seventh player suspended this year for a positive test, the fifth under minor league programs. Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games on March 31 and Philadelphia Phillies closer José Alvarado for 80 games on May 25 under the major league program. ___ AP MLB:
Global News
27 minutes ago
- Global News
U.S. strikes on Iran nuclear sites only set program back months: report
A new U.S. intelligence report found that Iran's nuclear program has been set back only a few months after a U.S. strike and was not 'completely and fully obliterated' as U.S. President Donald Trump has said, according to multiple people familiar with the early assessment. The intelligence report issued by the Defense Intelligence Agency on Monday contradicts statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran's nuclear facilities. Two sources confirmed the contents of the report to the Associated Press, while Reuters said it had spoken to three people familiar. The people were not authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. According to the people, the report found that while the Saturday strikes at the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites did significant damage, they were not totally destroyed. Story continues below advertisement The assessment found that at least some of Iran's highly enriched uranium was moved out of multiple sites before the U.S. strikes and survived, according to the people, and it also found that Iran's centrifuges are largely intact. At the deeply buried Fordo uranium enrichment plant, the entrance collapsed and infrastructure was damaged, so that will take time to fix, but the underground infrastructure was not destroyed, according to one of the people. The person also said that previous assessments had warned of this outcome at Fordo. The White House strongly pushed back on the assessment, calling it 'flat-out wrong.' 'The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran's nuclear program,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. 'Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.' 1:42 Israel says world should 'thank' U.S. after strikes on Iranian nuclear sites Trump has said in comments and posts on social media in recent days, including Tuesday, that the strikes left the sites in Iran 'totally destroyed' and that Iran will never rebuild its nuclear facilities. Story continues below advertisement Trump's administration on Tuesday told the U.N Security Council that its weekend strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had 'degraded' Iran's nuclear program, short of Trump's earlier assertion that the facilities had been 'obliterated.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Netanyahu said in a televised statement on Tuesday that, 'For dozens of years I promised you that Iran would not have nuclear weapons and indeed … we brought to ruin Iran's nuclear program.' He said the U.S. joining Israel was 'historic' and thanked Trump. One source told Reuters the assessment was not universally accepted and had generated significant disagreement. The Pentagon disputed the notion that the damage to Iran's nuclear program was minor, though it did not dispute that the DIA assessment exists. 'Based on everything we have seen — and I've seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons,' U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement provided to Reuters. 'Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target—and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission.' 6:56 U.S. strikes inflicted 'severe damage' at Iran nuclear sites, Pentagon says Initial military assessments can change as more information comes to light and it is not uncommon for opinions to vary across different U.S. intelligence agencies. Story continues below advertisement Assessing the damage at the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites is expected to be a difficult task, and the DIA is not the only agency tasked with the job. The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the DIA assessment. ODNI coordinates the work of the nation's 18 intelligence agencies, including the DIA, which is the intelligence arm of the Defense Department, responsible for producing intelligence on foreign militaries and the capabilities of adversaries. The intelligence assessment was first reported by CNN on Tuesday. Democrats have previously said Trump's claims that the weekend strikes eliminated or seriously set back Iran's nuclear program were not yet backed by evidence. 'There's zero evidence that I've seen that the nuclear program was completely and totally obliterated as Donald Trump has claimed,' House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Monday. Classified briefings on the matter for members of the House of Representatives and Senate were canceled on Tuesday. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and David Klepper contributed to this report. Additional files from Reuters
