3 Chinese nationals charged with smuggling Nvidia, HP chips to China
A sign is displayed outside of the Robert F. Kennedy U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) building on June, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Three Chinese nationals were charged with smuggling Nvidia and HP products to China, according to charges unsealed by the Justice Department on Thursday.
Starting in September of 2023, Hon Ning Ho, Brian Raymond, Cham Li and Jing Chen allegedly exported chips to China.
The Justice Department alleges that the three Chinese nationals and one American were involved in a scheme to ship these chips to third party countries — Thailand and Malaysia — that would then be shipped to China. The men allegedly set up a shell company to purchase these products.
The Commerce Department has banned China from acquiring these chips.
The Justice Department also alleges that the men discussed ways to “evade United States export laws and regulations.”
In exchange for these chips, the men received “kickbacks” for their alleged work.
In total, the men allegedly smuggled hundreds chips to China.
U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House following a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump traveled to Walter Reed to visit with troops and receive a medical check up. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, said his administration is going to “go into other cities” to combat crime.
“We’re going to have a surge of strong, good people, patriots. And they’re going to go in, they straighten it all out,” Trump said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Attorney General Pam Bondi. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Shortly after the Senate approved and sent a bill to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files to President Donald Trump’s desk on Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi faced questions on how the administration will respond.
“We have released over 33,000 Epstein documents to the Hill, and we will continue to follow the law and to have maximum transparency. Also, we will always encourage all victims to come forward,” Bondi said at a news conference alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and other officials on an unrelated law enforcement action.
Bondi told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas that there is “new information” that has come to the Justice Department regarding the Epstein files, but did not elaborate on what the new information is.
Last week, Bondi announced the Justice Department was initiating a renewed investigation into the files and potential ties between high-profile Democrats and Epstein just hours after Trump ordered her to on his Truth Social account.
ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas pressed Bondi on Wednesday what changed from the department’s memo in July in which they said they planned to make no future public disclosures related to their review of Epstein’s case and no further charges were expected.
“There’s information, new information, additional information,” she said in response to the question from Thomas. “And again, we will continue to follow the law to investigate any leads. If there are any victims, we encourage all victims to come forward. And we will continue to provide maximum transparency under the law.”
It’s unclear whether the DOJ will seek to cite the new investigation as exempting much of the files from public disclosure due to their relevance to the new investigation, despite DOJ and FBI stating unequivocally in a July statement that it uncovered no evidence in a review of the files that would support a predicated investigation against any uncharged individuals.
It’s unlikely the Justice Department would release the entire Epstein file, according to sources. Any materials related to ongoing investigations or White House claims of executive privilege will likely remain out of public view.
Earlier Wednesday, the Senate agreed to unanimously approve the bill the House passed on Tuesday, which meant there were no amendments or changes to the bill as House Speaker Mike Johnson and other members of his Republican leadership team had urged.
Johnson on Wednesday said he was “surprised” that no amendments were made.
“I made clear for months that I thought there were serious flaws in the underlying bill, and I had hoped that the Senate would work to fix and correct those. They decided to go a different direction. That’s their prerogative. I was surprised and disappointed by that,” Johnson conceded.
Still, the speaker said he does not expect Trump to veto the measure.
“The Congress has spoken,” Johnson emphasized “You know that the president will process that, and there’s no delays in this at all. I mean, it’s moving forward, so I’m going to check the progress right now.”
If the legislation is signed into law, it could compel the release of federal records on Epstein and his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as other individuals, including government officials, named or referenced in connection with Epstein’s “criminal activities, civil settlements, immunity, plea agreements or investigatory proceedings,” according to the legislation text. Victims’ names and other identifying information would be excluded from disclosure, as would any items that may depict or contain child sex abuse material, according to the text of the bill.
Trump said on Monday that he will sign the bill should it reach his desk.
“I’m all for it,” Trump said.
But in a post on his social media platform Tuesday afternoon, the president said he doesn’t “care when the Senate passes the House Bill, whether tonight, or at some other time in the near future,” and that he wants Republicans to stay focused on his agenda.
“I just don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories that we’ve had, including THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, Closed Borders, No Men in Women’s Sports or Transgender for Everyone, ending DEI, stopping Biden’s Record Setting Inflation, Biggest Tax and Regulation Cuts in History, stopping EIGHT Wars, rebuilding our Military, being RESPECTED by every Country in the World, having Trillions of Dollars INVESTED in the U.S.A., having created the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World, and even delivering a HUGE DEFEAT to the Democrats on the Shutdown,” Trump said in his post.
A senior White House official later told ABC News that the bill will “be signed whenever it gets to the White House.”
Trump did not need to wait for Congress to act — he could order the release immediately.
At a vigil on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon, a group of House Democrats and Epstein survivors broke out in loud cheers upon learning that the Senate unanimously approved the bill.
After New Mexico Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez made the announcement from the podium, the group broke out in loud cheers, claps and smiles — some of them tearing up.
Democrats were seen hugging the survivors.
ABC News’ John Parkinson, Lauren Peller, Rebecca Gelpi, Michelle Stoddart and Alex Mallin contributed to this report.
Catelin Drey, Democratic candidate for the Iowa State Senate, is seen in an advertisement for her campaign. Catelin Drey Campaign
(WASHINGTON) — National Democrats are celebrating the results of a special election for the Iowa State Senate, after Democrat Catelin Drey won in a district President Donald Trump carried by 11 points in 2024 to break a Republican supermajority of the chamber.
Republicans argue the low turnout race won’t reflect the voters who come out to support the party in the midterms, and that the results are influenced by the Democratic National Committee’s efforts to inject national money and volunteers into the race.
But the results are a potential warning sign for Republicans and suggest Democratic voters may be more engaged heading into next year’s elections, where control of Congress is at stake.
Drey won with 55% of the vote, with Republican Christopher Prosch garnering 44%, according to preliminary results from the Woodbury County Auditor’s Office.
“For the fourth special election in a row, Iowa voted for change,” Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said after Drey’s victory.
“Our state is ready for a new direction and Iowa Democrats will keep putting forward candidates who can deliver better representation for Iowans,” Hart added.
Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said on Wednesday the party mobilized more than 30,000 volunteers to aid Drey and Iowa Democrats.
Martin, in a statement touting Drey’s victory, said Iowans are “putting Republicans on notice and making it crystal clear: any Republican pushing Trump’s unpopular, extreme agenda has no place governing on behalf of Iowa families.”
“That’s why all year long, Iowans have been electing Democrats ready to fight for working Iowans. Make no mistake: when Democrats organize everywhere, we win everywhere, and today is no exception,” Martin said.
This is the second time this year that Democrats have won a special election in Iowa. In January, they flipped another Iowa State Senate seat in a GOP area that President Trump won by 21 points last November.
The result of Tuesday’s special election also has practical implications for the state. Without a supermajority, Republicans can no longer confirm the governor’s appointees without Democratic support.
Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufman, on social media, downplayed the win for Democrats.
“National Democrats were so desperate for a win that they activated 30,000 volunteers and a flood of national money to win a state senate special election by a few hundred votes,” Kaufman wrote on X. “If @DNC thinks things are suddenly so great again for them in Iowa, they will bring back the caucuses.”
