A Senate Republican charged that former President Joe Biden and top administration officials ‘demolished’ the constitutional guardrails for pardons by using an autopen.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, which was first obtained by Fox News Digital, that there are a list of ‘core constitutional requirements’ that must be met for pardons and granting clemency, and that the administration’s usage of an autopen likely ran afoul of those guardrails.

In the waning months of his presidency, the Biden administration commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 inmates and pardoned 39 others in December. A little over a month later, the administration issued roughly 2,500 more commutations — the most ever by a president in a single day.

Cruz, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, offered to provide Bondi assistance in ongoing investigations into the administration’s alleged abuse of the autopen.

He said that the clemencies were issued ‘based on broad criteria rather than case-by-case evaluations, and at least some were signed using an autopen of then-President Biden’s signature.’

‘These core Constitutional requirements, considerations, and expectations were demolished in the final months of the Biden administration for partisan and personal motives by President Biden, his family, and his top officials,’ Cruz said.

Cruz noted that the presidential pardon authority granted under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution requires a chain of custody of sorts: there has to be an unbroken line from the president to a pardon being granted, he said.

‘Everyone involved in the process — government officials purporting to issue a pardon, the person to whom it is being granted, judicial and law enforcement officials, and most of all the American people — should have absolute confidence a pardon was granted at the president’s explicit direction,’ Cruz said.

But recent reports, and ongoing congressional investigations, have raised doubts over whether Biden explicitly directed the avalanche of pardons toward the end of his presidency.  

Cruz’s letter comes on the heels of a report from Axios that unearthed emails that showed Biden officials raised concerns with how the president’s team decided to make certain pardons and the frequent usage of the autopen.

Cruz said that the emails showed that the Biden White House ‘implemented a process that separated the President from officials responsible for signing pardons on his behalf.’

‘They could not know if they were doing so at the President’s direction, either on a case-by-case basis or as a matter of criteria,’ he said.

He argued that the doubts raised by recent reports, and the ongoing investigations by the Justice Department, risked a ‘constitutional crisis in which the other branches and the American people cannot have faith that the President’s Article 2 pardon power was legitimately deployed.’

‘If the integrity of the clemency process was broken by Biden officials, such that the relevant actions were not taken at the President’s direction, the status of the pardons and commutations would at a minimum be cast into doubt, and the officials involved in approving and using the autopens should be held accountable,’ Cruz said. 

The White House revealed Tuesday that President Donald Trump ‘immediately directed’ his special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff to inform Qatar of the ‘impending attack’ by Israel. 

Israel’s military targeted senior Hamas leadership in Doha, launching what it described as a ‘precise strike.’ Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin were the two targets of the explosion that rocked the Middle Eastern nation’s capital, Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst said Tuesday, citing reports. 

‘This morning, the Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, which very unfortunately was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. ‘Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace does not advance Israel or America’s goals.’

‘However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal. President Trump immediately directed special envoy Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did,’ Leavitt added.  

‘The president views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States and feels very badly about the location of this attack,’ Leavitt said. 

Leavitt also revealed that Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the strike. 

‘The prime minister told President Trump that he wants to make peace and quickly. President Trump believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace,’ Leavitt said at the White House press briefing. ‘The president also spoke to the emir and prime minister of Qatar and thanked them for their support and friendship to our country. He assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil.’ 

Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were present for the call with the Qataris, Leavitt said. 

‘The president has always made it very clear that he wants peace in the Middle East, just like he sought that and accomplished that in his first term. He expects all of our allies and friends in the region – that includes both Qatar and Israel – to seek peace as well,’ Leavitt also said. ‘And he wants to see that happen. And he’s working with all of our allies in the region to get that done.’ 

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is pushing against a pair of ads from a group linked to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that suggests she has enriched herself with stocks over her nearly three decades in Washington.

The Majority Forward PAC, a political action committee that is affiliated with the Schumer-linked Senate Majority PAC, launched a $700,000 ad campaign against Collins, who is eyeing a bid for a sixth term in the Senate, but has yet to officially launch her campaign.

The pair of ads, one a 30-second spot titled ‘Greed,’ the other a 15-second spot titled ‘This Life,’ target Collins for her opposition to a congressional stock trading ban by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. However, her office argued that through images of private jets and Collins in glamorous attire, the ads suggested that she has personally enriched herself through trades while working as a lawmaker.

The ads accuse Collins of ‘the worst kind of greed; using insider information to trade stocks.’

‘She’s opposing a bipartisan bill that would ban members of Congress from trading stocks,’ the narrator said. ‘Our representatives should be serving the people of Maine, not lining their own pockets.’

While Collins does not directly own any stocks, according to disclosure filings, her husband Tom Daffron does. However, a trade has not been made since last year, and her office argued that Daffron’s holdings are made by a third-party advisor.

‘Senator Collins has never bought, sold, or owned any shares of stock during her entire Senate tenure,’ her office told Fox News Digital. ‘Tom Daffron’s investment decisions are made exclusively by a third-party advisor without his consultation. No individual stocks have been bought or sold from his account in almost three years.’

Majority Forward spokesperson Lauren French fired back in a statement to Fox News Digital that the ads go after Collins ‘for her refusal to support a stock trading ban for members of Congress and their families — bipartisan legislation that 95 percent of Mainers support.’

‘Nowhere in the ad does it say Senator Collins regularly buys, sells, or owns stocks (though her husband does) — but if she is still confused, we’ll be happy to continue airing it throughout Maine so both she and her constituents can understand how her opposition to ending stock trading is enabling her colleagues to benefit from their positions of power,’ French said.

Senate Democrats are hoping that their prized candidate, Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine, jumps into the race to take on Collins. However, Mills, who is term-limited, has not made an official announcement on her plans and the Democratic primary has fast become crowded.

Collins told the Bangor Daily News that she did not support Hawley’s bill last month, and instead argued that there should be more enforcement of already existing rules that bar members from insider trading.

The White House similarly panned the bill, which would has included a carve out for both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, and all Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Accountability Committee, except for Hawley, voted against the bill. Collins is not a member of that committee.

However, Trump has since warmed to the idea of a congressional stock trading ban, and lauded the push by Rep. Anna Paulina, R-Fla., as a ‘MASSIVE WIN’ on Truth Social. 

The pool of potential jurors is narrowing for the high-profile federal trial of Ryan Routh, who faces charges for attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in September 2024.

During the second day of jury selection in Fort Pierce, Florida, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon eliminated a woman who asserted, ‘I am MAGA’ as a potential juror for the trial. Cannon, a Trump appointee, claimed the statement exhibited ‘self-declared bias.’ 

Another woman was removed as a potential juror for claiming she ‘only follows God’s law’ on a questionnaire. 

However, Cannon refused to cut a potential juror who claimed that he ‘knows Trump personally.’ The potential juror claimed that he had breakfast with Trump and first lady Melania Trump 25 years ago when he was considered for a job at a golf course. However, Cannon said the potential juror would still be able to participate fairly in the trial – despite the interaction decades ago. 

Three groups of 60 potential jurors are undergoing the jury selection process, where prosecutors and Routh ask potential jurors questions to assess if they can fairly participate in the trial. The jury selection process got underway on Monday and is expected to conclude Wednesday. Routh is representing himself. 

Ultimately, the jury selection process will identify 12 jurors and four alternates for the trial.

During Monday’s session, Routh’s questions for potential jurors included their views on the war in Gaza, their position on the U.S. potentially acquiring Greenland as the president has floated, and how they would act if they were driving and spotted a turtle in the middle of the road.

In response, Cannon labeled them ‘politically charged,’ and said that they were unnecessary for jury selection. 

‘None of the questions on your list have any bearing whatsoever. They were off base, sir, and have no relevance to jury selection,’ Cannon said.

According to prosecutors, Routh planned to kill Trump for weeks, and hid out in shrubbery on Sept. 15, 2024, when a Secret Service agent detected him pointing a rifle at Trump while the then-presidential candidate played golf. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, but abandoned his weapon and the scene after the Secret Service agents opened fire.

Routh was later apprehended by the Martin County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office on the I-95 interstate in a black Nissan Xterra. 

According to the Justice Department, he is charged with attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate; possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; assaulting a federal officer; felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Routh also faces state charges related to terrorism and attempted murder. 

Routh, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, was previously convicted of felonies in North Carolina in 2002 and 2010. 

Fox News’ Jamie Joseph, Jake Gibson, Heather Lacey and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned that left-wing policies such as cashless bail have sparked violent crime trends in cities nationwide, including Democrat-run cities located in Republican-run states. 

‘There is crime in all states, but the crime in these cities is all in cities that are run by Democrats. If you look at the list of the top 20 high-crime cities in the United States, every single one — with the exception of one in Louisiana — is run by a Democrat. And these Democrats have supported the same policies that I spoke about at the beginning of this briefing, like cashless bail,’ Leavitt said. 

The press secretary was responding to a question on whether the administration would also work with Republican governors to address cities rocked by crime, instead of focusing on Democrat-run jurisdictions in blue states. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened crime crackdowns in Chicago and Baltimore, which are located in Democratic states, while crime-riddled cities such as Memphis, which is located in Republican Tennessee, have not received the same level of attention for its crime trends.

Leavitt argued that current violent crime trends are due to left-wing justice policies that affect cities no matter if they are in a Republican or Democrat state, pointing to Jackson, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama, as examples.  

‘If you look at a red state, Mississippi, but a Democrat-run city in that state — Jackson. In 2019, Jackson, Mississippi, eliminated cash bail for virtually all misdemeanor cases. And while Jackson is not formally a sanctuary city, the state of Mississippi formally banned sanctuary cities, and this city has acted as a de facto sanctuary city for criminals and illegal aliens since 2017,’ she said. 

‘Same thing: Birmingham, Alabama. A Democrat-run city in a red state in 2017, the Birmingham City Council unanimously passed a resolution, quote, committing to establish sanctuary policies. So, if you actually look at the facts from these Democrat-run cities, these are cities that are run by Democrats and by blue, by members of the Democrat Party. These are blue cities. And they have all supported these disastrous policies which allow repeated career criminals back onto the streets to further commit acts of violence.’

Trump’s presidential campaign included repeated vows to bring crime down across the U.S. following the nation’s bloody trends that began in 2020 amid the defund the police protests and riots that summer. On Aug. 11, he federalized Washington, D.C., under Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, part of his campaign vow, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital’s police force for 30 days. 

After homicides have dropped and more than 2,000 arrests, Trump has celebrated the D.C. crime crackdown as an example for other cities and has since repeatedly floated sending the National Guard into cities such as Chicago. Local leaders, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, have shunned such talk as unnecessary and a form of ‘authoritarianism.’

‘The president wants to work with anyone across this country who wants to end these horrible policies and to bring law and order to our streets. And I think that is proven by his tremendous cooperation with the mayor of Washington, D.C., and our nation’s capital. And just look at the results of that,’ Leavitt continued. 

Among the files made public by the House Oversight Committee is a document that stands out for its tone: a glossy 238-page scrapbook that offers a rare and unusually intimate glimpse of Jeffrey Epstein’s self-curated network. 

The infamous ‘birthday book,’ compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003, for Epstein’s 50th includes what appears to be notes from former President Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz, as well as photographs that juxtapose girlfriends, animals, children’s drawings with financiers and politicians — a tableau that feels all the more unsettling today.

Maxwell wrote to Epstein at the beginning of the book that she wanted to ‘gather stories and old photographs to jog your memory about places, people and different events.’ She hoped he would ‘derive as much pleasure from looking through it’ as she did assembling it for him.

Later in the book, a photo of the two canoodling appears with a caption that reads ‘the first date,’ marked with the year 1991.

Maxwell was found guilty in 2021 of sex trafficking and other offenses, and is serving a 20-year prison term. Prosecutors said she played a central role in Epstein’s scheme, luring underage girls into what began as massages and escalated into sexual abuse.

Now 63 and incarcerated since her 2020 arrest, Maxwell told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in late August that she had no role in the sexual exploitation of minors. When asked about the ‘birthday book,’ she told Blanche that she could only remember some parts of it, adding that it had been years since she compiled it. 

Among the book’s entries is an apparent note from Bill Clinton, where the former Democratic president praises Epstein’s ‘childlike curiosity’ and his ‘drive to make a difference’ as well as the ‘[illegible] of friends.’

Dershowitz, a former Harvard University law professor who once represented Epstein during criminal investigations, used his birthday note to make a joke about influencing media coverage.

‘Dear Jeffrey, as a birthday gift to you, I managed to obtain an early version of the Vanity Unfair article. I talked them into changing the focus from you to Bill Clinton, as you will see from the enclosed excerpt. Happy birthday and best regards,’ the entry said.

Dershowitz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing as it relates to Epstein.

The birthday book also contained sentimental messages from family and friends. In one note, Epstein’s mother, Pauline Stolofsky Epstein, wrote that she’s been ‘very busy reminiscing since Ghislaine asked me to write about you.’ 

‘Jeff[,] you have been a good son since day one and we have been proud of you ever since,’ Epstein’s mother said.

‘I recall you refused to sleep [as a child] unless I read a story from Grandma’s Golden Book that she bought for 25c,’ she added. ‘At PTA meetings I begged your teachers to improve your handwriting.’

She also referenced Epstein’s life as a bachelor, as well as his prominent media shout-outs.

‘At age 27 Cosmopolitan magazine featured you as ‘Bachelor of the Month,” Pauline Epstein wrote. ‘Today you still hold that title.’

‘Jeff, I’m so sorry that Dad can’t share the nachus [pride] we have regarding your achievements,’ she added. ‘He would have been overjoyed reading the article about you in New York Magazine.’ 

The book features hundreds of photos from throughout Epstein’s life until age 50, including pictures of him as a child and a teenager.

Some of the earlier images included family pictures, formal school photos and pictures of him hanging out with friends as a teenager.

The book also had revealing images of Epstein shirtless, Epstein embracing women and what appears to be a censored photo of him and Maxwell laughing and embracing in a pool. Pictures of mating lions and zebras were also included in the book.

A picture of a woman in a bikini was also included with the caption, ‘Visiting you down in Palm Beach. Can’t get a second of privacy with you and a camera around ha ha!’

Upon the files’ release, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee, accused Democrats of previously ‘cherry-picking’ the documents.

‘Oversight Committee Republicans are focused on running a thorough investigation to bring transparency and accountability for survivors of Epstein’s heinous crimes and the American people,’ Comer said.

The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission indicated that, after more than a decade of restrictions on whole milk in schools, the federal government is planning to drop them. 

The decision to drop the restrictions on whole milk sales in schools was announced as part of the MAHA commission’s Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, a sweeping plan with over 120 initiatives released Tuesday. The initiatives cover a wide range of topics, from toxic food dyes, to nutrient requirements, to misleading health advertisements. Updated recommendations regarding fluoride and PFAS chemicals in water and a new definition for ‘ultra-processed food’ were among the planned initiatives as well.

‘The Trump administration is mobilizing every part of government to confront the childhood chronic disease epidemic,’ Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday. ‘This strategy represents the most sweeping reform agenda in modern history — realigning our food and health systems, driving education, and unleashing science to protect America’s children and families. We are ending the corporate capture of public health, restoring transparency, and putting gold-standard science — not special interests — at the center of every decision.’

The move to bring back whole milk to schools is something Kennedy has been considering since day one, according to Nina Teicholz, a nutrition expert who was privy to discussions among Kennedy’s staff before he was confirmed by the Senate to lead the nation’s public health response. While removing the restrictions is a significant move, there are still additional steps that will need to be taken before whole milk becomes widely accepted again, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

One of those additional steps is rewriting the national dietary guidelines, which directly influence school meal nutrition standards. The new MAHA children’s health strategy indicates that the Trump administration will update the 2025–2030 guidelines, while also reforming the manner in which future dietary guidelines can be updated. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would also initiate changes to school nutrition standards through its rulemaking process to permit whole milk in schools. 

Meanwhile, legislation is another avenue that could be used to streamline the process for bringing back whole milk in schools, the CRS notes, which would then compel the USDA to revise its regulations governing the National School Lunch Program. In the current Congress, a bill to bring back both whole milk and 2% milk has been approved in the House and is awaiting full approval in the Senate before it can be sent to the president’s desk.

Another notable part of the new MAHA children’s health strategy entails an initiative to ramp up enforcement of prescription drug advertising laws. The strategy said this includes the dissemination of ‘risk information and quality of life through misleading and deceptive advertising on social media and digital platforms.’ The report notes that the new enforcement will target direct-to-consumer telehealth companies and social media influencers, among others.

In April, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced plans to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply. The MAHA strategy indicated this effort will remain ongoing as the FDA continues to pass policies that will either limit, or altogether prohibit, the use of petroleum-based food dyes in all food products approved in the United States.

Other initiatives include providing a government-wide definition for ‘ultra-processed foods’ to support future policy activity, efforts to require better transparency in food labeling, new recommendations regarding fluoride and PFAS chemicals in water, updates to the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) standards, changes to nutrition requirements for infant formula, and efforts to increase breastfeeding rates to ensure a safe supply of donor milk.

‘For too long, health care has used a reactive approach to chronic diseases,’FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said. ‘I am pleased to support the findings of the MAHA commission and to promote a more proactive approach, tackling root causes undermining the health and happiness of American children.’

Tuesday’s children’s health strategy from the MAHA Commission follows an earlier assessment on children’s health released in May. After that report was released, farmers expressed concern over what the reforms could mean for their livelihoods. However, following Tuesday’s latest strategy report, at least one of those groups is applauding the Trump administration for taking steps to protect farmers. 

‘It’s clear that farmers’ voices were finally heard, but our work to defend their access to safe and proven crop protection tools is far from over,’ said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Executive Director of the Modern Ag Alliance. ‘The Commission avoided some of the most damaging potential outcomes for American agriculture, but it still advanced some misconceptions about these essential farming inputs and the gold-standard science and regulatory processes that stand behind them.’

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called to ‘open the courtroom doors’ so parents can sue Meta, accusing founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg of misleading Congress after whistleblowers detailed child safety failures on the company’s virtual reality (VR) platforms.

Two former Meta researchers told a Senate panel Tuesday that the company buried child harm evidence in VR, killed age-verification studies and let AI chatbots flirt with kids, prompting a bipartisan push to pass measures protecting minors online.

‘The claims at the heart of this hearing are nonsense; they’re based on selectively leaked internal documents that were picked specifically to craft a false narrative,’ a Meta spokesperson said. 

‘The truth is there was never any blanket prohibition on conducting research with young people and, since the start of 2022, Meta approved nearly 180 Reality Labs-related studies on issues including youth safety and well-being.’

Testifying before the Senate were Cayce Savage and Jason Sattizahn, both former Meta researchers.

Sattizahn alleged Meta routinely prioritized engagement and profit over safety — especially for kids — and manipulated or erased research showing harm.

He said despite attempts to curb data collection, the studies researchers could run still showed the company’s products endangered users.

Germany once banned Meta’s VR sales over data treatment concerns; after sales resumed in 2022, Sattizahn was sent to conduct research there.

He said he understood Meta was trying to show its VR headsets were safe for Germans.

But when research uncovered that underage children using Meta VR in Germany were subjected to demands for sex acts, nude photos and other acts children should never be exposed to, Sattizahn alleged Meta demanded all evidence be erased.

‘My research still revealed emotional and psychological damage, particularly to women who were sexually solicited, molested or worse,’ he testified. ‘In response, Meta demanded I change my research in the future to not gather this data on emotional and psychological harm.’

Savage testified she led youth safety research in VR and likewise said Meta prioritized engagement over child safety.

She said the company employed suppression tactics, including editing reports, demanding deletions and threatening jobs.

Hawley asked Savage why it was important for Meta to have children under 13 using VR. She told him kids drive household adoption of gaming devices, which means more money for Meta.

‘So, this is about profits at the end of the day,’ Hawley told Savage while seeking clarification on whether Meta will do anything for a profit, including exposing children to vile sexual abuse.

‘When I was doing research to identify the harms that children were facing in VR, which I had to be sneaky about because legal wouldn’t actually let me do it, I identified that Roblox, the app on in VR, was being used by coordinated pedophile rings,’ Savage said. ‘They set up strip clubs, and they paid children to strip.’

She added that Robux could be converted into real money.

Savage said she flagged the issue to Meta, saying under no circumstances should Meta host the Roblox app on the headset.

‘You can now download it in their app store,’ she said.

Later, under questioning, Savage told the panel she estimates any child in a social VR space will come in contact with, or be directly exposed to, something inappropriate.

‘She said every single child who goes into the platform will 100% be exposed to child sex abuse material. Every single one,’ Hawley told Fox News Digital Tuesday evening. ‘I just come back to the fact that we have got to protect our children. 

‘It can’t be that if you go online as a kid, you are 100% likely to be sexually abused, and that’s what the witnesses said today. If you are online, if you’re on their virtual reality program platform rather, you are going to get sexually abused. That was their testimony.’

Hawley called out Zuckerberg for testifying on Jan. 31, 2024, that Meta does not allow people under the age of 13 on the service.

During his testimony last year, the CEO said anyone under the age of 13 will be removed from the service, and, in response to another question, Zuckerberg said Meta does not want users under the age of 13.

Hawley said Zuckerberg misled Americans with that testimony, pointing to whistleblowers who said under-13 users are rampant on the platform.

‘I don’t see how you can square what he told us under oath last year with what these whistleblowers said today,’ Hawley told Fox News Digital. ‘But that’s true of a lot of his statements. I mean, he said over and over, whether it’s the safety protocols Facebook has put into place, that’s not true. 

‘Whether it’s regarding their work in China, he said, ‘Oh, we don’t do work in China.’ That is not true. He said, ‘We don’t have any contacts with the Chinese government.’ That’s not true. So, I mean, we’re really piling up a long list here.’

Hawley said he has called for Zuckerberg to testify again under oath, though he’s heard Meta isn’t interested.

Ultimately, Hawley said, it was time to ‘open the courtroom doors’ so victims and families can sue Meta for failing to protect children.

‘It is abundantly clear to me that it is time to allow parents and victims to sue this company,’ he said. ‘They have got to be able to get into court and to get in front of a jury and hold this company accountable, and that begins with Mark Zuckerberg. There has to be accountability. We have to open the courtroom doors and allow victims to have their day in court.’

Earlier this year, Hawley said he advanced legislation through the Judiciary Committee that would allow victims of child sex abuse online to sue Facebook or any Big Tech company where harm happens.

‘I don’t think we’re going to see real change at these companies until this becomes law and parents and victims can get into court and hold these people accountable,’ he said. ‘The bottom line is we’ve got to protect our kids. I mean, they’re making money by stealing the innocence of our children.’

Meta told Fox News Digital the company is training its artificial intelligence bots to not respond to teenagers on self-harm, suicide, disorder eating and potentially inappropriate romantic conversations, regardless of content. The company is also working to limit teen access to a select group of AI characters, ‘for now.’

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., closed the meeting by inviting anyone from Meta to testify or challenge what was said.

‘I think that they see there is truly bipartisan anger, not only with Meta, but with these other social media platforms and virtual reality platforms and chatbots that are intentionally, knowingly harming our children,’ she said. ‘This has got to stop. Enough is enough.’

It really shouldn’t be that big a deal.

Donald Trump was one of many friends solicited to send messages to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. There’s a far more cautious one from Bill Clinton, too.

If the president had merely said ‘yeah, I sent it, we were joking back and forth, nothing to see here’ – this was in 2003, before the child predator was charged with sexual abuse – nobody would have blinked. The birthday book was assembled by his then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Instead, he filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for supposedly publishing inaccuracies in its report on the Trump birthday message.

The Journal has now been vindicated.

Trump flatly denied having sent a birthday message at all. He can’t draw, he would never do such a thing, it was inconceivable.

Now it looks a lot more conceivable.

As the Journal was the first to report, there is a friendly back-and-forth against the backdrop of a sketch of a naked woman’s silhouette. Trump’s signature is in the pubic area, and the paper says it matches other acknowledged ‘Donald’ signatures – along with his use of such phrases as ‘a wonderful thing.’

There is this exchange:

Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.

Jeffrey: Yes we do, come to think of it.

Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?

Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.

Donald: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.

That’s it, given more punch by Trump’s denial that he never sent such a thing.

In fact, after the publication of the texts and the naked silhouette – which I’m sure you’ve seen as it’s been all over television – Trump continues to deny that the letter and sketch are his. 

They’re sure doing a good job of moving on from the Epstein mess, huh?

Reached on his cell yesterday by NBC reporter Garrett Haake, Trump said: ‘I don’t comment on something that’s a dead issue. I gave all comments to the staff. It’s a dead issue.’

That sounds like wishful thinking. The only ‘dead’ part is Jeffrey Epstein.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt backed up the boss in a posting:

‘The latest piece published by the Wall Street Journal PROVES this entire ‘Birthday Card’ story is false. As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it. President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.

‘Furthermore, the ‘reporter’ @joe_palazzolo who wrote this hatchet job reached out for comment at the EXACT same minute he published his story giving us no time to respond. This is FAKE NEWS to perpetuate the Democrat Epstein Hoax!’ But it’s hardly a hoax to Epstein’s victims, who spoke out the other day – one voted for Trump – about how being lured into having sex while young as 14 ruined their lives.

The New York Times has a sobering report on other birthday messages to Epstein.

Venture capitalist William Elkus recalled Epstein conjuring a beautiful woman out of thin air during a visit to a farm town in Iowa, where it was hard to ‘tell the difference between the girls and the hogs.’ Elkus marveled at Epstein’s being able to find a ‘spectacular tall blonde’ whom he later invited back with him to New York, concluding he had relied on ‘some long distance escort service.’

Elkus told the Times that it was a joke and that he was referring to Epstein’s ‘charisma, which was palpable.’

A person named Leslie wrote, ‘I wanted to get you what you want,’ so ‘here it is’ – a drawing of breasts. Another writer sent photos of zebras, and lions, getting it on.

A person named Nick described a night in London that left Epstein ‘howling with laughter.’ Nick said an ‘old man smiling sweetly’ pulled down a woman’s panties and put his hand on her privates, only to find another man’s hand already there. 

Some women, including assistants and girlfriends – the names are redacted – may have been Epstein’s victims. 

One woman wrote: ‘With you, dear Jeffrey, I laugh like a little girl and feel like a woman.’ There’s a hand-drawn heart, a brief message and a photo of a woman’s butt in a thong bikini.

There’s a cartoon of Epstein in a beach chair getting ‘what appears to be a nude massage from four topless women.’ Appears? That’s exactly what it is.

There were messages from Nathan Myhrvold, former chief technology officer for Microsoft; retail billionaire Leslie Wexner; billionaire investor Leon Black; Epstein’s onetime attorney Alan Dershowitz; and Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling scout who died in 2022 by suicide in a French jail cell after being charged with raping teenage girls.

The Washington Post has more, saying ‘attention to Trump’s relationship with Epstein is not going away anytime soon, and the political headaches for the president are likely to linger.’

In a partially redacted photo, Epstein is holding an oversized check made out to him for $22,500 with DJTRUMP on the signature line. The handwritten caption: ‘Sells ‘fully depreciated’ [redacted] to Donald Trump for $22,500.’ 

Trump allies have decided to make their stand on the signature question, adding to the murkiness.

‘Is this really the best they could do?’ wrote MAGA influencer Benny Johnson. ‘Trump has the most famous signature in the world. Time to sue them into the oblivion.’

In a drawing, labeled ‘1983,’ a male figure is pictured handing balloons to young girls in pigtails. That was next to ‘2003,’ where he’s drawn getting massages from topless blonde women with the caption ‘what a great country!’

Look, there’s no other way to say it: This has the whiff of a cover-up.

I mean, are people buying the president’s insistence that he never sent the birthday message that they’ve seen with their own eyes?

Trump boxed himself by insisting, even now, that he’d never sent such a message. That’s the heart of the political problem.

The president may pronounce the story dead, but for the rest of the world – including MAGA supporters who have been obsessed with this case – it’s very much alive.