President Donald Trump may have made amends with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, after referencing the billionaire in a speech Wednesday and after Musk attended a dinner at the White House Tuesday evening. 

While the two publicly exchanged harsh words in the spring after Musk left his post heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tensions appear to have simmered in the following months. 

‘You’re so lucky I’m with you, Elon. I’ll tell you. Has he ever thanked me properly?’ Trump said at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum on Wednesday in Washington. ‘Although I do let him buy other than electric cars, but these are minor details. You know, we had a mandate which even Elon thought was ridiculous, that everybody has to have an electric car by 2030. And once, fortunately, he said, that’s a ridiculous thing.’ 

Trump’s comments came while discussing a portion of his massive tax and domestic policy measure known as the one ‘big, beautiful bill’ that he signed in July, which included a new tax deduction on car loan interest for purchases made between 2025 and 2028 permitting car buyers the ability to write off up to $10,000 annually in interest for certain loans on brand new cars.

After Trump’s speech, Musk posted on X: ‘I would like to thank President Trump for all he has done for America and the world.’ 

Tension between Trump and Musk reached an all-time high in May after the two publicly aired their differences regarding the ‘big, beautiful, bill.’ Musk was highly critical of the measure amid reports the measure would increase the federal deficit, while Trump Musk’s disdain for the bill was due to a provision that eliminated an electric vehicle tax credit that benefited companies like Tesla.

The two hurled insults against one another in May and June, with Musk claiming that Trump wouldn’t have won the 2024 election without the billionaire’s support. Meanwhile, Trump accused Musk of going ‘CRAZY’ over cuts to the electric vehicle credits, and said that Musk had been ‘wearing thin.’

However, the two were seen together at conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s funeral in Arizona in September. 

Musk also appeared at the White House Tuesday for a dinner during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington. Other tech executives who attended the dinner included Apple CEO Tim Cook and Dell CEO Michael Dell. 

The White House and Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Americans are bracing for their healthcare premiums to increase in 2026 amid uncertainty stemming from whether Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies about to expire at the end of 2025 will receive an extension. 

Those shopping on the ACA marketplace already are expected to face a 26% premium price increase in 2026, and if the potential government subsidies expire, monthly payments for subsidized patients could increase by 114%, according to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation released in October. 

But the potential lapse in government subsidies, which seek to lower monthly payments for patients, isn’t the only reason for rising premium prices. At the crux of the issue is that the ACA’s foundation includes several inflationary provisions that are driving up healthcare costs, according to experts. 

‘Obamacare does more to increase prices,’ Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Washington-based libertarian-leaning Cato Institute think tank, told Fox News Digital Monday. 

‘It increases prices on healthy people by requiring them to pay double or triple what they should have to pay for health insurance, and it requires everybody who enrolls in Obamacare to buy more comprehensive coverage than they probably would if you gave them the money.’ 

1. Guaranteed coverage 

One provision included in the ACA is the guaranteed issue, which requires that insurers provide coverage to anyone without factoring in their health status or age. 

This is a factor that ramps up the cost of premiums, according to Sally Pipes, the president of the free market think tank Pacific Policy Institute.

‘As older patients use a lot more healthcare than the young and cost insurers a lot more in claims, premiums have to rise to cover their loss on the older enrollees,’ Pipes said in a statement Monday to Fox News Digital. 

2. Community rating rule 

Coupled with this provision is the community rating rule, which bans insurers from charging older people more than three times what they do younger people — regardless of their health status.

This essentially amounts to a system of government price controls because it requires insurance companies to charge two people of the same age on the same healthcare plan the same premium, even if one is healthy and the other is sick, according to Cannon. 

‘That is a price floor for the healthy person, because the price can’t go below whatever you charge the sick person, and it’s a price ceiling for the sick person, because the price can’t go above whatever you charge the healthy person,’ Cannon said. ‘And so the centerpiece of Obamacare is really just price controls, where you set the price too high in one area and too low in the other area.’ 

3. Mandated service coverage 

Additionally, the ACA has an ‘essential’ health benefits requirement that stipulates health insurance plans must cover certain services, including inpatient and outpatient hospital care, mental health services, prescription drug coverage and more.

‘This means enrollees have to buy a plan that covers each benefit, regardless of whether they want that benefit or not,’ Pipes said. ‘If an individual family wants a plan that doesn’t cover alcohol rehabilitation or hair prostheses, they still have to pay to cover these benefits. They add tremendously to the cost of coverage.’ 

Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats have been at odds over extending ACA subsidies, ultimately prompting the government shutdown, which lasted more than 40 days and was the longest in U.S. history. Democrats refused for weeks to back a measure without a provision to permanently extend the ACA subsidies, which will expire at the end of 2025.

But, ultimately, Democrats got behind a short-term spending bill that does not extend these subsidies by the end of the year. Even so, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed to a vote in December on legislation that would continue these credits.

The Biden administration first introduced the COVID-era subsidies under the American Rescue Plan Act passed in March 2021, which was subsequently extended the following year under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Meanwhile, Trump has signaled he won’t back continuing the subsidies and said in a social media post Tuesday that Congress shouldn’t ‘waste’ its time on negotiating an extension. 

‘THE ONLY HEALTHCARE I WILL SUPPORT OR APPROVE IS SENDING THE MONEY DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PEOPLE,’ Trump said in the post.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that officials who pushed radical climate change policies should be immediately investigated.

While speaking at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., Trump said the American people rejected ‘failed’ far-left models, including regulation aimed at curbing climate change.

The event, which was held at the Kennedy Center, aims to bring together ‘visionaries, leaders, and changemakers shaping the future of global investment,’ according to its website. Speakers include Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang, Pfizer Chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla and several other heavy hitters.

Trump went through climate activists’ change in terminology, noting that what is now called ‘climate change’ was once called ‘global warming.’

‘Perfect words, ‘climate change.’ They’re covered if it rains, if it snows, if it’s warm, it’s climate change, ‘it’s destroying the world,” Trump said. He later remarked, ‘It’s a little conspiracy out there. We have to investigate them immediately. They probably are being investigated.’

‘Their policies punish success, rewarded failure and produced disaster, including the worst inflation in our country’s history,’ Trump added.

While it was not immediately clear who Trump was referencing when he called for an investigation, he has spoken out against the Green New Deal, which he calls the ‘Green New Scam.’

Trump issued a proclamation declaring October ‘National Energy Dominance Month.’ In his proclamation, Trump lamented the Biden administration’s ‘war on American energy,’ saying that ‘the Green New Scam shuttered dozens of coal plants leaving our power grid vulnerable, halted mining productions, and shipped our energy jobs from Texas to Tehran, from the Midwest to Moscow, and from Baton Rouge to Beijing.’

Additionally, on Earth Day, the White House declared that, ‘Unlike the previous administration, which wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on virtue signaling and ineffective grifts, the Trump administration’s policies are rooted in the belief that Americans are the best stewards of our vast natural resources — no ‘Green New Scam’ required.’ 

The White House article listed Trump’s environment-related policies, such as the promotion of U.S. energy dominance, his support for forest management and his actions to protect public lands.

During his remarks on Wednesday, Trump declared that, under his administration, ‘America is back and America is open for business. And America is actually stronger than it’s ever been before.’

On Tuesday, MBS committed his country to increasing its planned investment in the U.S. economy to nearly $1 trillion over the next year. Trump welcomed the investment, saying it was ‘great.’

‘You know, that’s great. I appreciate that. That’s great. We’re doing numbers that nobody’s ever done. And in all fairness, if you didn’t see potential in the U.S., you wouldn’t be doing it,’ Trump said.

‘Definitely,’ MBS replied.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Republican legislation brewing in the House of Representatives aimed at addressing civil litigation transparency is sparking concern from some conservative organizations that fear it could chill donor participation and make it more difficult for Americans of modest means to hold ‘woke’ companies accountable. 

In a letter sent earlier this week, Tea Party Patriots Action urged the House Judiciary Committee to reject HR 1109, introduced by GOP Reps. Darrell Issa, Scott Fitzgerald, and Mike Collins, which is known as the Litigation Transparency Act of 2025 and is aimed at ensuring greater transparency in civil litigation, requiring parties receiving payment in lawsuits to disclose their identity. 

The letter warns that ‘sweeping disclosure mandates in this bill threaten our core American principles of personal privacy, confidentiality, and freedom of speech and association.’

‘This legislation would require litigants to preemptively disclose detailed information about private financial arrangements, such as litigation funding agreements, independent from the discovery process and without any finding of relevance by a judge,’ the letter, signed by over a dozen conservative groups including America First Legal, Defending Education, Heartland Institute, former treasurer of Ohio Ken Blackwell, and American Energy Institute, states. 

‘The bill’s forced disclosure mandates would broadly apply to any number of political organizations, religious groups, law firms, or individual plaintiffs that rely on outside support to vindicate their rights.

‘If adopted, H.R. 1109 will have a chilling effect on free speech and association and directly threaten the privacy rights of Americans,’ the letter warns. ‘The end result will be fewer Americans having the resources or willingness to bring legitimate claims, which threatens to undermine future legal battles over issues critical to our movement.’

‘The privacy interests at stake here are not abstract. We have seen how disclosure regimes can be easily weaponized by bad actors, particularly those seeking to attack and intimidate political opponents.’

Issa told Fox News Digital on Thursday afternoon that there is ‘misinformation’ circulating about what the bill actually does and there will be a ‘small update tomorrow to clarify one item.’

‘What’s actually happened is language has been put in to assure groups that we’re not looking to overturn NAACP v. Alabama or any of the other historical 501c privileges that you don’t turn over your donor list and so on,’ Issa said. ‘That was something that Obama and Biden tried to do a couple of times. We want nothing to do with that. We’re only asking that if there is a material funder slash partner in a lawsuit, that they be disclosed.’

‘I fully respect and appreciate the concerns of people who want to make sure that this does not turn into a burdensome discovery of, for example, a nonprofit’s hundreds, thousands or millions of donors,’ Issa explained. 

‘We share the concern of all these groups that we wanted to make sure we believed we were on solid ground as written but in an abundance of caution, my staff and all the parties worked to try to come up with the most straightforward, effective way to say, of course, you don’t have to disclose your donors.’

Proponents of the legislation, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, call it a ‘vital step toward ensuring that our legal system remains a tool for justice rather than being a playground for hidden financial interests.’

In his press release announcing the legislation in February, Issa said, ‘Our legislation targets serious and continuing abuses in our litigation system that distort our system of justice by obscuring public detection and exploiting loopholes in the law for financial gain.’

‘Our approach will achieve a far better standard of transparency in the courts that people deserve, and our standard of law requires. We fundamentally believe that if a third-party investor is financing a lawsuit in federal court, it should be disclosed rather than hidden from the world and left absent from the facts of a case.’  

The press release explained that hundreds of cases a year involve civil litigation funded by undisclosed-third-party interests as an investment for return from hedge funds, commercial lenders and sovereign wealth funds through shell companies and that there are often investor-backed entities who seek hefty settlements from American companies that end up ‘distorting the free market and stifling innovation.’

The conversation about the legislation reignites an ongoing showdown between insurers and large corporations who have made the case that third-party funding drives abusive suits and inflated settlements therefore needing more visibility into funders of litigation and limits to speculative investment in lawsuits against advocacy-oriented nonprofits and legal networks, who argue they are the only mechanism for those without deep pockets to take legal action against well funded companies. 

Many advocacy-oriented nonprofits and legal networks don’t simply hand over charitable donations to a lawsuit but instead use structured litigation vehicles, limited liability companies, donor-advised funds, or legal-defense trusts,  that front the costs of a case and are reimbursed, sometimes with interest, if the case wins or settles. The process is known as non-recourse or outcome-contingent funding, meaning the funder only gets money back if the case succeeds.

Nonprofits like Consumers’ Research have been using litigation finance in recent years to push back against ‘woke capitalism’ to counter ESG and DEI policies and the group’s executive director, Will Hild, told Fox News Digital that it has been ‘all too easy for major companies to use their outsized influence and powerful market shares to push an ideological agenda with little to no recourse.’

Hild told Fox News Digital he views the legislation an ‘attack’ on one of the ‘few tools Americans have to hold powerful, woke corporations accountable.’

Hild added, ‘Even worse, it imposes dangerous disclosure mandates that would force plaintiffs to expose confidential litigation funding agreements. This bill blatantly tips the scales in favor of woke corporations and makes it far harder for victims to secure the resources they need to fight back.’

The letter from the conservative groups also expresses fear that ‘compelled disclosure of private financial arrangements would force litigants to unveil the identity of donors — violating donor privacy rights and exposing them to threats of harassment and retaliation.’

In a Tuesday op-ed in The Hill opposing the legislation, Alliance Defending Freedom founder Alan Sears pointed to Supreme Court decisions that he says have ‘affirmed that forced disclosure of private association undermines fundamental freedoms.’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rep. Fitzgerald said, ‘As reiterated to these groups in multiple discussions, it remains Congress’ intent to protect the First Amendment rights of those who contribute to political groups and religious organizations, consistent with the Supreme Court’s opinion in Citizens’ United.’

Organizations that have endorsed the bill have pointed to concerns about foreign funding in courtrooms, specifically from China, including High Tech Investors Alliance who said in a press release they ‘commend’ the legislators who put it forward for ‘defending American businesses against the exploitation of our courts by foreign adversaries and unscrupulous hedge funds.’

‘For too long, a lack of transparency has allowed shell entities to manipulate the legal system to prey on American employers, concealing their predatory practices and identities of their financial backers,’ HTIA said. ‘As President Trump takes bold action against aggressive economic maneuvers by China and other countries, Congress must also act decisively to protect our judges and juries from becoming tools in the economic warfare waged by antagonists.’

Leonard Leo, who operates a vast network of conservative nonprofits and is tied to Consumers’ Research, told Politico earlier this year that ‘while there are areas, like mass tort, where litigation financing has been abused, and could be reformed, it has always been a critical tool for the conservative movement to advance the public good by taking on the liberal woke agenda.’

The House Judiciary Committee did not mark the bill up Tuesday and Fox News Digital is told it will be marked up on Thursday at 12 p.m. 

‘If someone is acting as a principal litigant, either directly or one step removed, then you have a right to face them, you have the right to cross-examine them, you have a right to know if they receive your trade secrets that were exposed and disclosed in litigation, these things are all important,’ Issa said, adding that the legislation does not require materials to be turned over to the defendant and a judge can review them in camera, a legal term for in private.

Issa continued, ‘We just want to make sure that the judge knows that just as the markman is a required part of determining what a patent means, that it’s a responsibility of the judge to determine who the litigants are and, as appropriate, disclosing them is required — and that last part has always been ignored a little bit, we’re only making sure that that discovery is asked for and evaluated at a minimum by the judge or magistrate overseeing the case.’

AT&T turned over private, personal cellphone records belonging to then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy to then-Special Counsel Jack Smith in January 2023 amid his investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, Fox News Digital has learned.

Fox News Digital first reported Thursday that Smith subpoenaed AT&T for McCarthy’s records, but AT&T had indicated to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley that the company had not shared any of the former speaker’s phone records.

But Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter AT&T sent to Grassley, R-Iowa, citing the previous reporting, which led the telecommunications company to review the case and change its response.

Smith, on Jan. 24, 2023, allegedly sought the ‘toll records for the personal cell phones of U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (AT&T) and U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert (Verizon.)’

The information was included as part of a ‘significant case notification’ drafted by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division May 25, 2023.

AT&T, though, notified Grassley that the company received a subpoena for McCarthy’s records in January 2023 — separate from the May 2023 subpoena for other toll records, and allegedly inadvertently supplied those personal cellphone records to Smith.

‘AT&T is producing today a January 23, 2023 grand jury subpoena issued by former Special Counsel Jack Smith to AT&T, also accompanied by a non-disclosure order relating to the subpoena,’ AT&T wrote.

AT&T referenced Fox News Digital’s exclusive reporting on the subpoena.

‘We identified (the subpoena) yesterday as such based on the phone number in the subpoena,’ the company continued. ‘Based on this newly found record, we write to correct our October 24, 2025 response, which was based (on) a reasonable review of our records at that time.’ 

‘AT&T’s Global Legal Demand Center receives hundreds of thousands of legal demands each year, and unlike the May 2023 subpoena discussed in our October 24 response, the subpoena we produced today did not seek records from a campaign account,’ AT&T explained.

‘Rather, as confirmed from press accounts, the subpoena sought records for a personal cellular phone number,’ AT&T continued. ‘It also did not in any way indicate that the information sought related to a member of Congress. As a result, the subpoena processing center had no reason to believe that the phone number was associated with a member of Congress, and AT&T did not make further inquiries to the Special Counsel and produced the information as required by the subpoena.’

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Fox News Digital that ‘Jack Smith broke the law and seized my phone records as Speaker of the House.’

‘If corrupt justice will do it to the Speaker, they’ll do it to anyone,’ he said. ‘The DOJ has the authority and responsibility to hold him accountable.’

Lawyers for Smith declined to comment.

AT&T had initially told Grassley that when the company received the May 2023 request for records it ‘raised questions with Special Counsel Smith’s office concerning the legal basis for seeking records of members of Congress, the Special Counsel did not pursue the subpoena further, and no records were produced.’

AT&T had also stressed that the company ‘has not produced any records or other information to Special Counsel Jack Smith’ relating to ‘any member of Congress.’

The revelations come after Fox News Digital exclusively reported in October that Smith and his ‘Arctic Frost’ team investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots were tracking the private communications and phone calls of nearly a dozen Republican senators as part of the probe, including Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.

An official told Fox News Digital that those records were collected in 2023 by Smith and his team after subpoenaing major telephone providers. 

Smith has called his decision to subpoena and track Republican lawmakers’ phone records ‘entirely proper’ and consistent with Justice Department policy.

‘As described by various Senators, the toll data collection was narrowly tailored and limited to the four days from January 4, 2021 to January 7, 2021, with a focus on telephonic activity during the period immediately surrounding the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol,’ Smith’s lawyers wrote in October to Grassley.

Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are investigating ‘Arctic Frost.’ 

‘Arctic Frost’ was opened inside the bureau April 13, 2022. Smith was appointed as special counsel to take over the probe in November 2022. 

An FBI official told Fox News Digital that ‘Arctic Frost’ is a ‘prohibited case,’ and that the review required FBI officials to go ‘above and beyond in order to deliver on this promise of transparency.’ The discovery is part of a broader ongoing review, Fox News Digital has learned.

Smith, after months of investigating, charged President Donald Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request. 

Smith’s case cost taxpayers more than $50 million. 

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday evening that he signed legislation greenlighting the Justice Department to release files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

‘I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!’ Trump wrote in a lengthy message on the Truth Social platform. ‘As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to pass this Bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request, the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage. 

‘At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. Do not forget — The Biden Administration did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him.’

Trump’s ties to Epstein had faced increased attention after Trump’s Justice Department and FBI announced in July it would not unseal investigation materials related to Epstein, and that the agencies’ investigation into the case had closed.

But Sunday Trump announced that he backed releasing the documents, asserting that he had ‘nothing to hide.’ 

‘As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown,” Trump wrote.

The House voted Tuesday to release the files by a 421–1 margin, following pressure for months from the measure’s ringleaders, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and other Democrats. 

Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., was the only House member to vote against the release, and said he didn’t back the measure because ‘this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people — witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc.’ 

Although Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., ultimately voted in favor of the measure, he also voiced similar concerns during a Tuesday press conference.

‘Who’s going to want to come forward if they think Congress can take a political exercise and reveal their identities? Who’s going to come talk to prosecutors? It’s very dangerous. It would deter future whistleblowers and informants,’ he said. ‘The release of that could also publicly reveal the identity, by the way, of undercover law enforcement officers who are working in future operations.’

After the House’s approval of the measure, the bill headed to the Senate and passed hours later Tuesday by unanimous consent. 

The Epstein Files Transparency Act specifically directs the Justice Department to release all unclassified records and investigative materials related to Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell, as well as files related to individuals who were referenced in Epstein previous legal cases, details surrounding trafficking allegations, internal DOJ communications as they relate to Epstein and any details surrounding the investigation into his death. 

Files that include victims’ names, child sex abuse materials, classified materials or other materials that could threaten an active investigation may be withheld or redacted by the DOJ. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters Wednesday that she would comply with the law after it was signed, which directs the Justice Department to release the files online in a searchable format within 30 days. 

The Epstein files received fanfare among supporters of the president in the early days of the administration as they rallied around the Trump DOJ to release details on Epstein’s alleged ‘client list’ and death. 

The DOJ and FBI said in a joint memo obtained by Fox News in July that the two agencies had no further information to share with the public about Epstein’s case and suicide in 2019, sparking outrage among some MAGA supporters as they demanded the DOJ release more documents. 

Trump has since railed against the Epstein case as a ‘Democrat hoax,’ before calling for their release Sunday. 

The push to release the files gained increased momentum after Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released three emails Wednesday that Epstein’s estate provided to them that mentioned Trump. In turn, Republicans released their own stash of 20,000 pages of Epstein documents that same day.

Included in the tranche of documents are emails between Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and correspondence with author Michael Wolff, former President Barack Obama’s White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler, among others, where Epstein mentions Trump.

‘i want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump.. (VICTIM) spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc. im 75 % there,’ Epstein said in an email to Maxwell in April 2011, which was provided with other correspondence to the committee by Epstein’s estate in response to a subpoena request.

‘I have been thinking about that…’ Maxwell said in response.

Epstein told Wolff in a separate email in 2019 that ‘of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop’ — a reference to Trump. Trump has said that he barred Epstein from his Florida Mar-a-Lago golf club because Epstein kept ‘taking people who worked for me.’

While the documents themselves are authentic, Epstein’s statements in the emails remain unverified and uncorroborated. The documents do not claim that Trump committed any wrongdoing, and only portray Epstein mentioning the president. 

Likewise, Trump has not faced formal accusations of misconduct tied to Epstein, and no law enforcement records connect Trump to Epstein’s crimes.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 as he was awaiting trial on federal charges. Maxwell was convicted on charges including sex trafficking of a minor and is currently serving a 20-year sentence.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and David Spunt contributed to this report. 

The Senate is once again finding a moment of bipartisan unity in its fury over a recently-passed law that would allow lawmakers to sue the federal government and reap hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money as a reward.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle continue to grapple with the inclusion of a provision in a package designed to reopen the government that would allow only senators directly targeted by the Biden-led Department of Justice (DOJ) and former special counsel Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation to sue the U.S. government for up to $500,000.

Both Senate Republicans’ and Democrats’ ire at the provision is multi-pronged: some are angry that it was tucked away into the Legislative branch spending bill without a heads-up, others see it as nothing more than a quick pay day for the relatively small group of senators targeted in Smith’s probe.

‘I think it was outrageous that that was put in and air dropped in there,’ Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., told Fox News Digital. ‘It’s outrageous. It’s basically just a cash grab for senators to take money away from taxpayers. It’s absolutely outrageous, and needs to be taken out.’

The provision was included in the spending package by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on request from lawmakers in the GOP. And it was given the green light by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The provision is narrowly tailored to just include senators, and would require that they be notified if their information is requested by the DOJ, be it through the subpoena of phone records like in the Arctic Frost investigation or through other means. The idea is to prevent the abuse of the DOJ to go after sitting senators now and in the future.

Thune pushed back on the notion that lawmakers weren’t aware the provision was in the bill, given that the entire package was released roughly 24 hours before it was voted on, but acknowledged their frustration over how it was added was warranted.

‘I think I take that as a legitimate criticism in terms of the process, but I think on the substance, I believe that you need to have some sort of accountability and consequence for that kind of weaponization against a co-equal branch of the government,’ Thune said.

Schumer, when asked about the anger brewing on both sides of the aisle, heaped the blame on Thune, but noted that it was an opportunity to get protection for Democrats, too.

‘Look, the bottom line is Thune wanted the provision, and we wanted to make sure that at least Democratic senators were protected from [Attorney General Pam] Bondi and others who might go after them,’ Schumer said. ‘So we made it go prospective, not just retroactive, but I’d be for repealing all the provision, all of it. And I hope that happens.’

The House is expected to vote on legislation that would repeal the language, and many in the upper chamber want to get the chance to erase the provision should it pass through the House. Whether Thune will put it on the floor remains in the air though.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., was one of the eight senators whose records were requested during Smith’s probe. He told Fox News Digital that he was neither asked about the provision, nor told about it, and like many other lawmakers, found out about it when he read the bill.

‘I just think that, you know, giving them money –- I mean making a taxpayer pay for it, I don’t understand why that’s accountability,’ he said. ‘I mean, the people who need to be held accountable are the people who made the decisions to do this, and, frankly, also the telecom companies. So I just, I don’t agree with that approach.’

He also took issue with the fact that the provision was narrowly tailored to only apply to the Senate, and argued that it could be reworked to only provide for declaratory judgement in court rather than a monetary one.

‘I could see the value of having a court say this was illegal and ruling against the government,’ Hawley said. ‘I think it’s the monetary provisions that most people, including me, really balk at. Like, why are the taxpayers on the hook for this, and why does it apply only to the Senate?’

The provision set a retroactive date of 2022 to allow for the group of senators targeted in Smith’s Arctic Frost probe to be able to sue. That element has also raised eyebrows on both sides of the aisle.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital that he supported repealing the provision, but wanted to fix it.

‘The best way to be able to handle it, I think, is to be able to fix it, take away the retroactivity in it,’ he said. ‘The initial target of this whole thing was to make sure this never happened again.’

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., told Fox News Digital that the provision was a ‘total mess,’ and raised concerns on a bipartisan basis.

Not every Senator was on board with ditching the provision, however.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., made clear that he intends to sue the DOJ and Verizon, his phone carrier, and argued that he didn’t believe that the provision was self-dealing but rather to deter future, similar actions. He also wants to take the provision, or the core idea of it, a step further.

Graham said that he wanted to open up the process to others, including dozens of groups, former lawmakers and others affected by the investigation.

‘Is it wrong for any American to sue the government if they violated your rights, including me? Is it wrong if a Post Office truck hits you, what do you do with the money? You do whatever you want to do with the money,’ Graham said.

‘If you’ve been wronged, this idea that our government can’t be sued is a dangerous idea,’ he continued. ‘The government needs to be held accountable when it violates people’s rights.’

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tx., was far more succinct. When asked if he would support a repeal of the provision, he told Fox News Digital, ‘No.’

Republican legislation brewing in the House of Representatives aimed at addressing civil litigation transparency is sparking concern from some conservative organizations that fear it could chill donor participation and make it more difficult for Americans of modest means to hold ‘woke’ companies accountable. 

In a letter sent earlier this week, Tea Party Patriots Action urged the House Judiciary Committee to reject HR 1109, introduced by GOP Reps. Darrell Issa, Scott Fitzgerald and Mike Collins, which is known as the Litigation Transparency Act of 2025.

It’s aimed at ensuring greater transparency in litigation, requiring parties receiving payment in lawsuits to disclose their identity. 

The letter warns that ‘sweeping disclosure mandates in this bill threaten our core American principles of personal privacy, confidentiality, and freedom of speech and association.’

‘This legislation would require litigants to preemptively disclose detailed information about private financial arrangements, such as litigation funding agreements, independent from the discovery process and without any finding of relevance by a judge,’ the letter, signed by over a dozen conservative groups, including America First Legal, Defending Education, Heartland Institute and the American Energy Institute, states.

‘The bill’s forced disclosure mandates would broadly apply to any number of political organizations, religious groups, law firms, or individual plaintiffs that rely on outside support to vindicate their rights.

‘If adopted, H.R. 1109 will have a chilling effect on free speech and association and directly threaten the privacy rights of Americans,’ the letter warns. ‘The end result will be fewer Americans having the resources or willingness to bring legitimate claims, which threatens to undermine future legal battles over issues critical to our movement.

‘The privacy interests at stake here are not abstract. We have seen how disclosure regimes can be easily weaponized by bad actors, particularly those seeking to attack and intimidate political opponents.’

Issa told Fox News Digital Wednesday afternoon there is ‘misinformation’ circulating about what the bill actually proposes to do, and there will be a ‘small update tomorrow to clarify one item.’

‘What’s actually happened is language has been put in to assure groups that we’re not looking to overturn NAACP v. Alabama or any of the other historical 501(c) privileges that you don’t turn over your donor list and so on,’ Issa said. ‘That was something that Obama and Biden tried to do a couple of times. We want nothing to do with that. We’re only asking that if there is a material funder slash partner in a lawsuit, that they be disclosed.

‘I fully respect and appreciate the concerns of people who want to make sure that this does not turn into a burdensome discovery of, for example, a nonprofit’s hundreds, thousands or millions of donors.

‘We share the concern of all these groups that we wanted to make sure we believed we were on solid ground as written, but in an abundance of caution, my staff and all the parties worked to try to come up with the most straightforward, effective way to say, of course, you don’t have to disclose your donors.’

Proponents of the legislation, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, call it a ‘vital step toward ensuring that our legal system remains a tool for justice rather than being a playground for hidden financial interests.’

In his press release announcing the legislation in February, Issa said, ‘Our legislation targets serious and continuing abuses in our litigation system that distort our system of justice by obscuring public detection and exploiting loopholes in the law for financial gain.

‘Our approach will achieve a far better standard of transparency in the courts that people deserve, and our standard of law requires. We fundamentally believe that if a third-party investor is financing a lawsuit in federal court, it should be disclosed rather than hidden from the world and left absent from the facts of a case.’  

The press release explained that hundreds of cases a year involve civil cases funded by undisclosed third-party interests as an investment for return from hedge funds, commercial lenders and sovereign wealth funds through shell companies and that there are often investor-backed entities who seek hefty settlements from American companies that end up ‘distorting the free market and stifling innovation.’

The conversation about the legislation reignites an ongoing showdown between insurers and large corporations that have made the case that third-party funding drives abusive suits and inflated settlements. Some argue there’s a need for more transparency about those who fund litigation and for limits to speculative investment in lawsuits against advocacy-oriented nonprofits and legal networks. Those groups argue they are the only mechanism for those without deep pockets to take legal action against well-funded companies. 

Many advocacy-oriented nonprofits and legal networks simply don’t hand over charitable donations to a lawsuit. Instead, they use structured litigation vehicles, limited liability companies, donor-advised funds or legal defense trusts that front the costs of a case and are reimbursed, sometimes with interest, if the case wins or settles. The process is known as non-recourse or outcome-contingent funding, meaning the investor only gets money back if the case succeeds.

Nonprofits like Consumers’ Research have been using litigation finance in recent years to push back against ‘woke capitalism’ to counter ESG and DEI policies. And the group’s executive director, Will Hild, told Fox News Digital it has been ‘all too easy for major companies to use their outsized influence and powerful market shares to push an ideological agenda with little to no recourse.’

Hild told Fox News Digital he views the legislation as an ‘attack’ on one of the ‘few tools Americans have to hold powerful, woke corporations accountable.’

Hild added, ‘Even worse, it imposes dangerous disclosure mandates that would force plaintiffs to expose confidential litigation funding agreements. This bill blatantly tips the scales in favor of woke corporations and makes it far harder for victims to secure the resources they need to fight back.’

The letter from the conservative groups also expresses fear that ‘compelled disclosure of private financial arrangements would force litigants to unveil the identity of donors — violating donor privacy rights and exposing them to threats of harassment and retaliation.’

In a Tuesday op-ed in The Hill opposing the legislation, Alliance Defending Freedom founder Alan Sears pointed to Supreme Court decisions he says have ‘affirmed that forced disclosure of private association undermines fundamental freedoms.’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rep. Fitzgerald said, ‘As reiterated to these groups in multiple discussions, it remains Congress’ intent to protect the First Amendment rights of those who contribute to political groups and religious organizations, consistent with the Supreme Court’s opinion in Citizens’ United.’

Organizations that have endorsed the bill have pointed to concerns about foreign funding in courtrooms, specifically from China, including High Tech Investors Alliance, which said in a press release it commends the legislators who put it forward for ‘defending American businesses against the exploitation of our courts by foreign adversaries and unscrupulous hedge funds.’

‘For too long, a lack of transparency has allowed shell entities to manipulate the legal system to prey on American employers, concealing their predatory practices and identities of their financial backers,’ HTIA said. ‘As President Trump takes bold action against aggressive economic maneuvers by China and other countries, Congress must also act decisively to protect our judges and juries from becoming tools in the economic warfare waged by antagonists.’

Leonard Leo, who operates a vast network of conservative nonprofits and is linked to Consumers’ Research, told Politico earlier this year that ‘while there are areas, like mass tort, where litigation financing has been abused and could be reformed, it has always been a critical tool for the conservative movement to advance the public good by taking on the liberal woke agenda.’

The House Judiciary Committee did not mark the bill up Tuesday, and Fox News Digital is told it will be marked up on Thursday at 12 p.m. 

‘If someone is acting as a principal litigant, either directly or one step removed, then you have a right to face them. You have the right to cross-examine them. You have a right to know if they receive your trade secrets that were exposed and disclosed in litigation. These things are all important,’ Issa said.

He added the legislation does not require materials to be turned over to the defendant, and a judge can review them in private.

Issa continued, ‘We just want to make sure that the judge knows that just as the markman is a required part of determining what a patent means, that it’s a responsibility of the judge to determine who the litigants are and, as appropriate, disclosing them is required. And that last part has always been ignored a little bit. We’re only making sure that that discovery is asked for and evaluated at a minimum by the judge or magistrate overseeing the case.’