Hillary Clinton’s House Oversight Committee deposition in Epstein probe paused after photo leaks
Former President Bill Clinton and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive prior to the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump at the United States Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Melina Mara – Pool/Getty Images)
(CHAPPAQUA, N.Y.) — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee in Chappaqua, New York, has been paused Thursday afternoon after a photo of her from inside the room was leaked, which is against committee rules.
The photo was posted by conservative social media influencer Benny Johnson who claimed it was provided by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert.
The former first lady and former President Bill Clinton are participating in depositions as part of the committee’s probe into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Voters casting ballot (CREDIT: Hill Street Studios/Getty Images)
(FULTON COUNTY, Ga.) — Officials in Fulton County, Georgia, filed a motion Wednesday seeking the return of all files from the 2020 election that were seized by the FBI last week, according to a spokesperson for the county.
FBI agents last Wednesday removed 700 boxes containing ballots and other materials associated with the 2020 election from a county election site after obtaining a search warrant approved by a federal magistrate judge.
The warrant said the material “constitutes evidence of the commission of a criminal offense” and had been “used as the means of committing a criminal offense.”
The county’s new motion also seeks the unsealing of the affidavit filed in relation to the search warrant, the spokesperson said in a statement.
The statement said that because the case is still under seal, the county is unable to share the contents of the motion.
The FBI’s action comes after Trump has repeatedly made baseless claims that there was voter fraud in the 2020 election, specifically in Georgia, that contributed to his election loss.
Georgia officials audited and certified the results following the election, and numerous lawsuits challenging the election results in the state were rejected by the courts.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on October 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Trump has been adamant that the U.S. will take control of Venezuela’s oil. Wednesday morning, Energy Secretary Chris Wright explained how the Trump administration envisions this will actually work, saying the U.S. will control the flow and sale of Venezuela’s oil and the revenue that comes from those sales.
“Instead of the oil being blockaded, as it is right now, we’re going to let the market, let the oil flow, sell that market to United States refineries and to around the world to bring better oil supplies, but have those sales done by the U.S. government and deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government,” Wright told an energy industry conference organized by Goldman Sachs in Miami.
“And then from there, those funds can flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people, but we need to have that leverage and that control of those oil sales to drive the changes that simply must happen in Venezuela,” Wright said.
Wright also said that he is in “active dialogue” with the Venezuelans and the oil and gas companies that were there before.
“It is going to require this, this cooperation between and pressure between the United States and Venezuela. If we control the flow of oil, the sales of [that] oil, and the flow of the cash that comes from those sales, we have large leverage, but without large leverage, as we’ve seen in the last 25 years, you don’t get change,” he said.
As for what happens to the revenue from those sales, which Wright said would be “deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government,” it would then “flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people, but we need to have that leverage,” he said.
Wright did not detail how much of that revenue would ultimately flow back into Venezuela. He did say that several hundred thousand barrels of oil could start to flow from Venezuela in the “short to medium term.”
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that Venezuela will turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the U.S. Sources told ABC News that those barrels represent the first tranche to be handed over to U.S. control.
Sources also confirmed to ABC News that some sanctions against Venezuela would be lifted to allow for the transport and sale of the oil on global markets, and that the revenue from those sales would be deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S., as Wright said.
The White House declined to comment but did not dispute the reports.
Wright on Wednesday echoed Trump in saying that some sanctions against Venezuela may be lifted, or at least that the U.S. would enable imports of some crucial equipment.
“And as we make progress with the government, you know, we will enable the importing of parts and equipment and services to kind of prevent the industry from collapsing, stabilize the production, and then as quickly as possible, start to see it growing again,” Wright said.
Wright also described the current energy infrastructure in Venezuela as “not good,” saying that it had degraded under “decades of under-investment, decades of corruption.”
“It’s not, of course, just oil and gas. Think of the electricity grid. That’s the backbone of a society,” Wright further said, adding that he’s been talking to leaders in the oil industry about how to improve the infrastructure.
“We’re either going to make that happen, make those changes in Venezuela and the capital will flow, or if we can’t successfully make those changes in Venezuela, the capital won’t flow,” Wright said.
Oren Alexander, Tal Alexander and Alon Alexander attend Chanukah With The Stars Gala on December 10, 2014 at Harmonie Club in New York City. (Photo by J Grassi/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Three sons of wealth and privilege “were partners in crime” who used their money and status to lure women and girls with promises of trips, exclusive parties and celebrity encounters so they could sexually assault them, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday during opening statements in the trial of Alon, Oren and Tal Alexander.
“These three brothers masqueraded as party boys when really they were predators,” the prosecutor, Madison Smeyser, said. “The brothers used whatever means necessary — sometimes drugs, sometimes alcohol, sometimes brute force — to carry out their rapes.”
The former real estate titans, Oren and Tal Alexander, along with their brother, Alon Alexander, have denied sexually assaulting anyone or running a sex trafficking conspiracy, as prosecutors have charged. They sat at the defense tables with their lawyers in suits and open-collar shirts.
If convicted, Oren and Alon Alexander, 38-year-old twins, and Tal Alexander, 39, could face life in prison.
“They came from a wealthy family, and they lived a life of luxury. But their luxurious lifestyle had a dark side,” Smeyser said.
A defense attorney called the brothers successful, ambitious, arrogant young men “who liked and pursued women” so they could have as much sex as possible.
“That’s not trafficking. That’s dating. That’s hooking up,” the lawyer, Teny Geragos, said during opening statements. She said the accusers, many of whom are expected to testify under pseudonyms, are motivated by shame, regret or money.
Prosecutors told the jury of six men and six women they would see a recording of Oren Alexander’s alleged rape of a then-17-year-old who will testify under the name Amelia. She was “far from sober, almost incoherent” at the time and has no memory of what happened, Smeyser said.
At an exclusive party in Manhattan, Alon Alexander allegedly raped a woman who regained consciousness to find him standing over her naked. When she told him she did not want to have sex, prosecutors said he laughed and said she already had, before raping her again.
Prosecutors said Tal Alexander invited a woman to the Hamptons, chased her into the shower, grabbed her by the neck and sexually assaulted her from behind as the woman cried, “no, no, no.”
Jurors were told they would read the brothers’ exuberant text messages after some of the encounters. “They celebrated raping women and girls,” Smeyser said.
Other messages, she said, suggested “the defendants knew they had to stay out of a courtroom like this one,” including one text that said the only thing that could bring down the brothers is “some ho complaining.”
The defense conceded the brothers were womanizers who jurors might find immoral but insisted they were not criminals.
“It was crude, it was arrogant, it will make you cringe,” defense attorney Deanna Paul said. “But we’re not here for the Asshole Awards.”
