Trump to hold news conference on airman rescue as his deadline for Iran looms
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump will hold a news conference Monday in the White House briefing room, where he’s expected to give more details on the “daring” weekend rescue of a U.S. airman whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran.
Trump teased the upcoming briefing at the White House Easter Egg Roll.
“Those two pilots were incredible, brave, and we thank them,” Trump said.
Looming large over the president’s upcoming comments, however, is his latest deadline for Iran to make a peace deal or reopen the Strait of Hormuz — by 8 p.m. ET Tuesday — or face massive U.S. attacks on critical infrastructure, including energy and water facilities.
“Right now they’re not too strong at all, in my opinion,” Trump said of Iran at the Easter event. “But we’re soon going to find out, aren’t we?”
Trump told ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott on Sunday that if no peace deal is reached with Iran in the next 48 hours, “we’re blowing up the entire country.”
But in a profanity-laced post on his social media platform early on Sunday, Trump told the Iranian regime, “you’ll be living in Hell” if it did not open the critical maritime shipping channel for oil and trade.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” Trump wrote in the post.
Experts have warned that possible attacks on civilian infrastructure could constitute war crimes and violate international law, a claim Iran makes as well. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when pressed on the issue last week, told reporters: “Of course, this administration and the United States Armed Forces will always act within the confines of the law.”
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said in a post on X that if the U.S. attacks power plants, then Iran would deliver “a decisive, immediate, and regret-inducing response.”
Amid the threats of escalation, questions remain about the status of talks between the U.S. and Tehran, after President Trump said last week that the U.S. was carrying out negotiations with “much more reasonable” leadership.
Asked about reports of a new draft proposal that includes a 45-day ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a White House official told ABC News on Monday: “This is one of many ideas, and POTUS has not signed off on it. Operation Epic Fury continues. President Trump will speak more at 1 p.m.”
When asked about the ceasefire proposal, Trump said at the Easter event that he’s seen “every proposal.”
“It’s a significant step, it’s not good enough but it’s a very significant step,” Trump said.
Iran said it will not accept a ceasefire without “suitable guarantees,” a Pakistani security official told ABC News.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during an event on advancing health care affordability in the Oval Office of the White House, April 23, 2026 in Washington. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — One of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s top public affairs spokespeople resigned from his post over the FDA’s fruit-flavored e-cigarettes authorization and its potential impact on minors, according to a resignation letter to President Donald Trump reviewed by ABC News.
In the letter, Richard Danker, the former assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, accuses senior agency officials in Kennedy’s immediate office of approving e-cigarette flavors that would allegedly expose children to “nicotine addiction, lung damage, and a higher risk of cancer.”
Danker also said the vape authorization “undermines” the department’s recent guidance document related to youth risks of flavored nicotine, according to the letter.
He thanked Trump for the “honor of a lifetime” to serve in both presidential administrations. Danker’s work portfolio includes economic regulatory roles, including a senior advisor position at the Department of Treasury during the first Trump administration. Danker hadn’t worked in healthcare prior to his time at HHS.
The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again movement has touted its focus on combatting chronic disease and improving children’s health. In a statement to ABC News, an HHS spokesperson said Kennedy is advancing the MAHA agenda to confront the chronic disease epidemic head-on.
“Political appointees are here to execute that mission with urgency, discipline, and focus,” according to the spokesperson.
“Individuals who lose sight of the mission and the responsibility they were entrusted with are free to move on from the agency. HHS remains fully committed to delivering results for the American people,” the spokesperson said.
Danker provided ABC News with a copy of the resignation letter, but did not provide further comment.
The White House did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
The news comes as former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary left office after clashing with the White House over pressure from Trump to authorize the flavored vapes, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The issue has raised concerns with Makary, pediatrician groups and advocacy organizations about the potential impact on minors, ABC News reported.
The FDA approved four new devices made by Glas, including classic menthol, fresh menthol, gold, and sapphire pods. “Gold” is mango-flavored and “sapphire” is blueberry-flavored.
While the FDA said on its website last week that it continues to prioritize the removal of illicit vapes — including those that target minors — the approval of a flavored vape represents a significant shift for the agency.
Makary told ABC News’ Linsey Davis in July, “There is not an approved vaping product in the United States that has one of these cutie-fruity flavors.”
Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) (R) speaks during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The House Oversight Committee is set to depose Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime accountant on Wednesday, potentially shedding light on how the disgraced financier was able to manage his multimillion-dollar fortune.
Richard Kahn served as Epstein’s accountant for over a decade, and some of Epstein’s victims allege he played an instrumental role in creating the “complex financial infrastructure” that enabled the financier’s crimes.
Kahn has consistently denied any wrongdoing and says he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes while serving as his accountant. The closed-door deposition — a recording of which is expected to be released by the committee — could provide a rare window into how Epstein paid for his lavish lifestyle and funneled thousands of dollars to his victims.
While some of the recent witnesses deposed by the House Oversight Committee — including Bill and Hillary Clinton and retail billionaire Leslie Wexner — have drawn immense publicity, the interviews have largely left unchanged the public’s understanding of Epstein’s life and crimes.
By turning to Epstein’s former inner circle with Kahn and his longtime lawyer Darren Indyke — who is set to be deposed next week — the congressional investigation could offer a broader window into Epstein’s life, legal troubles and the complex web of bank accounts and shell companies that comprised his fortune.
Kahn began working as Epstein’s in-house accountant in the mid-2000s and worked for Epstein until his death in 2019. Kahn and Indyke served as the co-executors of his will, and Epstein planned to give Kahn $25 million, according to documents released by the Department of Justice earlier this year.
Following Epstein’s death, his estate was valued as much as $650 million, though the fortune has decreased over the last decade as the estate has paid out multiple settlements to Epstein’s victims.
Last month, Kahn and Indyke agreed to settle one of the last class-action lawsuits filed by victims of Epstein for at least $25 million without an admission of wrongdoing. The estate was last valued at approximately $127 million, according to a court filing last October.
The class action complaint alleged that both men were “personally essential” for Epstein by helping structure his back accounts, managing cash withdrawals, and creating a complex financial infrastructure “created to simply facilitate the illegal sex-trafficking venture.” The lawsuit also alleged that the men helped Epstein facilitate at least three “sham marriages” to obtain immigration status for Epstein’s victims.
“Knowing that they would earn millions of dollars in exchange for facilitating Epstein’s sex abuse and trafficking, Indyke and Kahn chose money and power over following the law,” the complaint said.
The settlement did not include an admission of wrongdoing and still needs to be approved by a federal judge. While both men were named as defendants in the case, the settlement will also be paid through Epstein’s trust, rather than by them directly.
“Neither of the co-executors has made any admission or concession of misconduct,” said Dan Weiner, an attorney for both men said in a statement to ABC News last month. “That is not surprising — not a single woman has ever accused either man of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse, nor claimed at any time that she reported to them any allegation of Mr. Epstein’s abuse.”
Lawmakers last year began increasing their scrutiny of both Kahn and Indyke following a report in the Wall Street Journal that both men were never questioned by law enforcement investigating Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
“In light of the work Indyke and Kahn performed for Epstein and the outsize role they played in his personal and financial affairs; it is inexcusable that the DOJ and the FBI never questioned these individuals in connection with investigations into Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” a group of five Democratic Senators wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel last year. “A failure of this magnitude cannot be attributed to simple oversight or misunderstanding, and it is incumbent on Congress to understand why such a failure occurred.”
Documents released earlier this year offered some new details about Kahn’s role, managing expenses for Epstein and serving in roles in some of the companies that comprised the complex web of Epstein’s finances. According to a 2020 lawsuit against the Epstein estate filed by the U.S. Virgin Islands government, Epstein paid Kahn more than $10 million dollars between 2011 and 2019 for his services.
Ahead of the deposition, Daniel Ruzumna, an attorney for Kahn, declined to comment.
Bill Clinton speaks onstage during the Clinton Global Initiative 2025 Annual Meeting at New York Hilton Midtown on September 25, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images for New York Hilton Midtown)
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Bill Clinton, in his opening statement at his historic closed-door deposition before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee on Friday, denied any knowledge of the crimes committed by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, going on to say making his wife Hillary Clinton testify “was simply not right.”
In his statement as released, he stated that he will often say, “I do not recall” throughout his questioning because the events were “all a long time ago.”
“I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” Clinton said, according to the statement.
The former president is being grilled by the committee as part of its investigation into Epstein in Chappaqua, New York — marking a historic moment for a former president. Friday’s deposition is the first time a former president has been compelled to testify before a congressional panel.
He is facing questions under oath about his relationship with Epstein and photos that show the former president with both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking and other crimes.
The former president’s testimony comes a day after the committee questioned former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton over the couple’s dealings with the convicted sex offender.
On Friday, Bill Clinton said he had to “get personal” and blasted the committee for forcing his wife to answer their questions.
“You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him. She neither traveled with him nor visited any of his properties,” he said in his statements as released. “Whether you subpoenaed 10 people or 10,000, including her was simply not right.”
In her deposition Thursday, Hillary Clinton said she did not know Epstein, could not recall ever encountering him and never visited him on his island or at his home or office.
Hillary Clinton, on Thursday, also gave a preview of how her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will handle his own deposition.
“I think it is fair to say that the vast majority of people who had contact with him before his criminal pleas in ’08 were like most people — they did not know what he was doing. And I think that that is exactly what my husband will testify to tomorrow,” she said.
Neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing and both deny having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by the former president or his wife in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein.
Bill Clinton said in his opening statement that he had “no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing.”
“No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that at the end of the day matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos. I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn’t see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn’t do,” he said in his statement as released.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer reiterated Friday morning that the Clintons have been called to testify to try to answer questions about Epstein.
“No one’s accusing anyone of any wrongdoing, but I think the American people have a lot of questions, and our House Oversight Committee is committed to getting answers,” Comer said Friday morning.
Bill Clinton’s association with Epstein was first noted publicly in 2002 after reporters learned of the former president’s flight that year on Epstein’s jet for a humanitarian mission to multiple African nations.
Bill Clinton told New York Magazine through a spokesperson at the time that “Jeffrey is both a highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist with a keen sense of global markets and an in-depth knowledge of 21st century science.”
Maxwell said in a recorded interview last year with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, that it was she, not Epstein, who had a friendship with Bill Clinton, and that she was the one who suggested and organized his trips on Epstein’s aircraft.
The Clintons were subpoenaed to appear under oath in front of the committee for a deposition in January, but failed to comply, arguing the subpoenas were without legal merit. Rather, they proposed a four-hour transcribed interview instead.
David Kendall, the Clintons’ lawyer, argued that the couple has no information relevant to the committee’s investigation of the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, and should not be required to appear for in-person testimony.
Kendall contended the Clintons should be permitted to provide the limited information they have to the committee in writing.
Comer had long threatened to hold the Clintons in contempt if they failed to appear before the committee, so when they didn’t, a contempt resolution was drafted and put to a vote.
The Oversight Committee passed the contempt resolution with nine Democrats voting in favor of it, teeing it up for a full House vote.
At the last minute, just before the resolution was to be voted on in the House, the Clintons agreed to sit for a deposition, postponing further consideration of a contempt vote.
Democrats on the committee said they hope this week’s testimony from the Clintons spark Republican committee members to investigate more of Epstein’s ties to President Donald Trump.
Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has said that he cut off contact with his former friend more than 20 years ago.
“We have said from day one that we want to talk to former President Bill Clinton, and the other person we want to talk to is current President Donald Trump,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said Friday. “And so we should be very clear that now that we’re going to hear from former President Clinton, I hope that Chairman Comer and the Republicans will join us in demanding that the person who actually appears more times in the files than the former president who we want to speak with is President Donald Trump.”
While the Clintons have agreed to speak with the committee behind closed doors, they have still pushed for public hearings as part of the committee’s investigation.
“I will not sit idly as they use me as a prop in a closed-door kangaroo court by a Republican Party running scared,” Bill Clinton wrote in a lengthy post on X. “If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about.”
