Steve Witkoff earned nearly $107M from Trump-affiliated crypto venture, disclosures show
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff attends a Cabinet Meeting at Camp David on July 31, 2026 in Camp David, Maryland. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff made nearly $107 million last year from a holding company affiliated with World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency firm he cofounded with President Donald Trump and members of their respective families, according to financial disclosures obtained by a government watchdog.
Witkoff, one of President Trump’s top negotiators working to broker peace deals in the Middle East and Ukraine, was at one point listed as a “co-founder emeritus” on World Liberty’s website, a title he shared with President Trump.
The firm is operated by Witkoff’s son, Zach Witkoff, and Trump’s three sons.
Trump and Witkoff have both attracted scrutiny for their involvement in World Liberty Financial, which recently secured preliminary approval from the Trump administration to operate as a bank. Critics say their private enterprise presents the appearance of a conflict of interest.
World Liberty has repeatedly brushed aside conflict-of-interest concerns. In May 2025, World Liberty wrote on X that Witkoff was in the process of divesting himself from the firm and “has no operational role, no financial interest in WLFI deals, and no influence on day-to-day decisions.”
Trump himself has reported earning $526 million from the sale of cryptocurrency tokens through World Liberty Financial, according to financial disclosures filed over the summer. He earned another $65 million from sales of equity in WLF’s holding company.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, told ABC News on Wednesday that Witkoff has now “fully divested from World Liberty Financial, and his prior commercial activities are completely unrelated to his efforts to end global conflicts on the President’s behalf.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 24, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(BIDDLEFORD, Maine) — Federal immigration authorities were involved in a shooting in Biddeford, Maine, multiple sources told ABC News.
Local elected leaders, including Maine Speaker Ryan Fecteau, said in social media posts that at least one person was killed in the incident.
“A person was killed. ICE was involved,” Fecteau alleged in a post on his Facebook account. “State Police and the Department of Public Safety are now on scene to gather details and would expect the FBI to investigate as well.”
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said in a social media post that she is “aware of reports that someone was fatally shot in Biddeford this morning, and ICE may be involved.
“My team and I are working to get more information and will share more as we learn it,” Pingree said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Aris Karamousianis, left, and James Brouillard, seen here in surveillance footage, were reported escaped from their New Hampshire transitional facility on Sept. 21, 2026. (New Hampshire Department of Corrections)
(NEW YORK) — Investigators in New Hampshire said they were looking for two minimum security inmates, who they allege escaped from their transitional housing facility Monday while leaving to find work.
Aris Karamousianis, and James Brouillard, two minimum-security inmates of the Calumet Transitional Housing Unit in Manchester, signed out of the facility around 11:05 a.m. to seek employment, the New Hampshire Department of Corrections said.
“Neither returned to the facility, and their current whereabouts are unknown. Their last known location was in the area of Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester,” the department said in a statement.
Karamousianis, 43, was convicted in December 2025 on two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon, according to arrest records. His minimum release date was slated for Dec. 3, 2026, records show.
Karamousianis was described as 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 220 pounds, and has blue eyes and brown hair, according to the corrections department.
He was last seen wearing a gray zip-up fleece jacket, a white T-shirt, jeans, and was wearing a gold cross necklace, the corrections department said.
Brouillard, 63, has had several convictions going back to 1990, including a recent one for armed robbery, according to arrest records. He is described as approximately 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 200 pounds, and has light brown graying hair and blue eyes, the corrections department said.
He was last seen wearing a gray crewneck sweatshirt, jeans and white sneakers. Brouillard has several tattoos, including a skull with a heart and rose on his right forearm, a grim reaper on his right upper arm and a dragon on his left arm, according to the corrections department.
Anyone with information on the inmates is urged to call the NHDOC Investigations Bureau at (603) 848-2569.
Flash flooding in Henry County, Indiana, caused this street to collapse, Aug. 12, 2026. (Henry County Sheriff’s Office)
(NEW YORK) — Amid floodwaters already up to the roofs of some homes and turning the streets of multiple cities into rushing rivers, Midwest residents are bracing for more severe storms on Thursday.
“When I looked out my window, I saw my fence floating past my window,” Karlie Frey, a resident of hard-hit Cambridge City, Indiana, told ABC Indianapolis affiliate station WRTV.
After being evacuated from her home on Wednesday via a rescue boat, Frey, who has lived in Cambridge City since 2009, said, “I’ve never seen it get this bad.”
Indiana, which recorded three storm-related deaths this week, was in the path of more severe storms expected to pound the Midwest on Thursday.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun declared a statewide disaster emergency on Thursday.
“Hoosiers’ safety is my top priority. Our state response is fully mobilized, resources are moving where they’re needed, and we will continue working around the clock to support every impacted community,” Braun said in a social media post on Thursday.
Braun is expected to meet with first responders in Cambridge City and survey the damage there to “ensure state resources are available to support the response and recovery efforts,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
Meanwhile, rescue operations resumed on Thursday for one person in Delaware County, Indiana, who was among four people who reportedly went into the Mississinewa River on Wednesday during significant flooding, authorities said. Three others were rescued from the river on Wednesday night, officials noted.
Flood watches also remained in effect in Iowa, Kentucky and North Carolina, where showers and storms are possible on Thursday, keeping the threat of more flooding in place.
Like in recent days, storms expected from Des Moines, Iowa, to Lexington, Kentucky, and Knoxville, Tennessee, have the potential to train, or remain stationary, over the same areas, and could produce rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said severe isolated storms on Thursday are expected to occur across Iowa and Illinois, including the cities of Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Springfield and Peoria.
The storms are expected to be accompanied by damaging winds, large hail and possible tornadoes.
Dangerous heat will also be a factor from the Midwest and Plains to the Southeast, all the way down to South Florida. More than 100 million people in over 15 states are under heat alerts on Thursday as a heat dome remains parked over the country’s Mid-South region.
Extreme heat warnings are in effect for Wichita, Kansas City, St. Louis and Paducah, Kentucky. Heat indices, which include humidity, will make it feel 111 in St. Louis and 110 in Kansas City.
Meanwhile, authorities are continuing to assess the damage from storms, floods, and at least five tornadoes, including three in southwest Chicago suburbs, that devastated the Midwest over the past two days.
Images from flooded areas of Cambridge City and elsewhere in Henry County showed floodwaters up to the roofs of some homes and many flooded streets impassable.
In an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Cambridge City Town Council President Jim McLane described the flood in his small town of 1,700 people as “pretty devastating.”
McLane said he has lived in the area for 60 years and had never seen flooding “anything remotely compared to this.” He said flood waters rose “several feet higher than most people have seen it here before.”
McLane described a seven-to-eight-block area of flooded homes in Cambridge City, and said dozens of people had to be rescued by boat.
Henry County Sheriff John Sproles said more than 50 people were rescued on Wednesday from a flooded apartment complex in Henry County.
Henry County officials are also investigating a possible tornado that moved through New Castle, Indiana, on Wednesday, toppling trees and ripping the roof off a commercial building.
Sproles said he is concerned about additional rainfall hitting the area.
“Any more rain is really going to put us into much more significant problems,” he said.
Eric Stiles, who owns a plumbing company in Indiana, posted a video this week of damage caused by severe storms that hit Munster, Indiana, on Tuesday. The footage showed a line of massive trees uprooted in one residential neighborhood.
“It’s like driving through a war zone,” Stiles said in the video.
