US seizes tanker off coast of Venezuela, Trump says
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a roundtable discussion with farmers in the Cabinet Room of the White House on December 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump is expected to announce a $12 billion farm aid package, which includes one-time payments to those affected by the administration’s trade policies. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. has seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, amid escalating tensions between the administration and the South American nation.
“It’s been a very interesting day, from the standpoint of news. As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump said as he kicked off a roundtable event at the White House.
“Large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually. And other things are happening, so you’ll be seeing that later and you’ll be talking about that later with some other people,” Trump continued.
The oil tanker that was seized is referred to as a VLCC, or Very Large Crude Carrier, two sources told ABC News. VLCC’s are large oil tankers and can carry up to around 2 million barrels of oil.
The vessel was bound for Cuba, the sources said. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted the seizure, according to two sources.
Trump stayed mum when pressed for more details on the tanker during the roundtable event, but claimed it happened for “very good reason” and that photos would be released later.
When asked what happens to the oil on the ship, Trump said that the U.S. will likely keep it. Pressed further on who owns the tanker, Trump declined to respond.
Venezuela has the largest known oil reserves in the world, and oil exports are the government’s main source of revenue.
The U.S. hadn’t overtly interfered in oil exports during its pressure campaign on Venezuela and President Nicolas Maduro’s regime until now.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, speaks to members of the media at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that the Senate could act as soon as Tuesday to approve the release of the Justice Department’s files on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Thune said there’s currently an effort ongoing to determine whether any senator opposes moving forward with the bill. If no one objects, Thune said it was a “possibility” that the bill could be passed Tuesday — the same day it overwhelmingly passed in the House.
He also dismissed the idea that the Senate would amend the bill despite House Speaker Mike Johnson urging the Senate to do so.
“I think when a bill comes out of the House 427 to 1 and the president said he was going to sign it, I’m not sure that amending it is in the cards,” Thune said.
Johnson is not enthusiastic about the prospect of the Senate fast-tracking passage of the Epstein files bill in the upper chamber without making changes.
“I just texted him, we’re going to get together,” Johnson said about Thune. “We’ll talk about that.”
“There’s an easy way to amend the legislation to make sure that we don’t do permanent damage to the justice system, and I’m going to insist upon that,” Johnson added. “We’ll talk to our Senate colleagues.”
In remarks on the Senate floor, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would personally call for the Senate to unanimously act on the Epstein bill later Tuesday.
“As soon as the House sends us the Epstein bill the Senate should move without delay to pass it unamended and send it on to the president’s desk to be signed into law. We should pass this bill as soon as possible, as written, without a hint of delay,” Schumer said.
The measure that passed in the House compels Attorney General Pam Bondi to make available all “unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials” in the Department of Justice’s possession related to Epstein.
How would it work on the floor if this happened?
If the Senate does move on the Epstein bill on Tuesday evening, it’s expected to be by unanimous consent.
Right now, Thune said the Senate is checking in with members to see if there is anyone who objects to passing the bill Tuesday night.
If there is no objection, it could be a very quick process on the floor. Thune or another senator would likely rise to ask for the bill to be passed unanimously. The presiding officer would ask if there were any objections and, if there were none, the bill would be approved.
There are, of course, many procedural hiccups that could emerge. But the possibility exists that this could be moved across the floor quickly.
Schumer could seek unanimous agreement for final passage, or he could seek unanimous agreement to hold a vote on the bill Tuesday night. Either way, his actions, if all 100 senators agree, could send the bill to Trump’s desk as soon as Tuesday night.
Sen. Jeff Merkley is the sponsor of the Senate’s version of the bill that would compel release of the Epstein documents.
In a separate speech on the floor, Merkley also called for the bill to be swiftly passed.
If the bill passes in the Senate, it will go to Trump’s desk for him to sign it into law. The president said on Monday that he will sign the bill should it reach his desk.
“I’m all for it,” Trump said.
If the legislation — as it’s written in the House-passed bill — 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 House-passed bill.
Trump does not need to wait for Congress to act — he could order the release immediately.
Even if the measure passes through the Senate and is ultimately signed into law by Trump, 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.
When would this happen?
The timing is very unclear.
The Senate floor is currently open and the Senate is expected to vote at 5:30 p.m. ET on a separate matter unrelated to the Epstein files.
Thune could also decide to hold off until later in the week if that is the preference of his members.
ABC News’ John Parkinson and Rebecca Gelpi contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Among the more than 20,000 Epstein documents released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday are several email exchanges disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had in 2015 and 2016 with friends, attorneys and reporters about the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency.
In some instances, Epstein offers suggestions to reporters about leads they might pursue.
One notable example is an email conversation between Epstein and then-New York Times reporter Landon Thomas, Jr. in December 2015.
Thomas initiated the exchange on Dec. 8, 2015, with an email to Epstein referring to a 2002 New York magazine article Thomas had written, in which Trump was quoted calling Epstein a “terrific guy” who “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
“Now everyone is coming to me thinking I have juicy info on you and Trump. Because of this,” the reporter wrote, referring to that article.
Epstein then replied to Thomas in a series of emails over the next two hours — in his typical error-ridden style — first suggesting that Thomas look into Trump’s finances before pivoting to more personal subjects.
In one email, Epstein writes: “would you like photso [sic] of donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen.” Thomas replied, “Yes!!”
It’s unclear whether Epstein possessed such photos or if he ever sent the reporter any photos.
In another email, Epstein suggested that reporters “ask my houseman about donad [sic] almost walking through the door leaving his nose print on the glass as young women were swimming in the pool and he was so focused he walked straight into the door.”
ABC News has reached out to the White House about Epstein’s claims in the email exchange with the New York Times reporter.
The Republican-controlled House Oversight and Government Committee released the thousands of pages of new Epstein documents on Wednesday after House Democrats released three emails in which Epstein discussed Trump.
The documents were obtained after the committee subpoenaed the Epstein Estate over the summer.
The White House accused Democrats on the committee of releasing “selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative” about President Trump,” including one in which Epstein wrote that Trump “spent hours at my house” with someone the Democrats alleged was a victim.
“These emails prove absolutely nothing, other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
In Epstein’s exchanges with Thomas, the New York Times reporter, Epstein sent a link to a feature story about a woman that Epstein claimed had been his girlfriend who later dated Trump.
“my 20 year old girlfriend in 93 ,, that after two years I gave to donald,” Epstein wrote.
During Trump’s first campaign for the presidency, Epstein was also in frequent contact with author Michael Wolff, who was working on a book about Trump.
In many messages, Wolff appeared to be encouraging Epstein to speak publicly about his previous relationship with the candidate, noting that many reporters and his political rivals were investigating the issue.
“NYT called me about you and Trump,” Wolff told Epstein in February 2016. “Also, Hillary campaign digging deeply, Again, you should consider preempting.”
In October 2016, after the “Access Hollywood” tapes had been made public and just days before the presidential election, Wolff sent Epstein another message, with “Now could be the time” in the subject line.
“There’s an opportunity to come forward this week and talk about Trump in such a way that could garner you great sympathy and help finish him. Interested?”
It’s unclear if Epstein responded to that message.
Other emails include exchanges Epstein had during Trump’s first term in office.
A few days after Trump’s first inauguration, on Feb. 8, 2017, Epstein, in conversation with Larry Summers, who was the treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and former president of Harvard University said, “Recall ive told you,, — i have met some very bad people ,, none as bad as trump. not one decent cell in his body.. so yes- dangerous.”
In August 2018, Kathryn Ruemmler, who previously served as White House counsel during part of President Barack Obama’s administration, emailed Epstein a link to an opinion piece published by The New York Times that made the case for Trump’s impeachment, following the guilty pleas of Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen.
“you see , i know how dirty donald is,” Epstein wrote to Ruemmler. “my guess is that non lawyers ny biz people have no idea. what it means to have your fixer flip.”
In a Dec. 3, 2018 exchange over iMessage, someone whose name is redacted wrote to Epstein, “It will all blow over! They’re really just trying to take down Trump and doing whatever they can to do that…!”
The context of this message is unclear.
“yes thx,” Epstein responded. “its wild. because i am the one able to take him down.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump suggested a criminal investigation into Christopher Wray, his appointee to lead the bureau in his first term, after a conservative media outlet reported the false claim that FBI agents were involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“I would imagine. I would certainly imagine. I would think they are doing that,” Trump said in a phone interview with NBC News when asked whether the Justice Department should investigate Wray.
Trump appointed Wray to lead the bureau in 2017 after he fired former FBI Director James Comey. Comey was indicted in a grand jury last week on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation after Trump just days before publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to act “now” to prosecute his foes.
In a brief video posted to his Instagram account, Comey said, “My heart is broken for the Department of Justice. I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial, and keep the faith.”
Wray opted to depart the bureau before Trump took office for his second term because he had fears that Trump firing him could cause turmoil within the department. Wray had also drawn Trump’s ire over investigations into election interference from the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s handling of classified documents, both of which were dropped after Trump won the 2024 election.
Trump first began suggesting Wray should be be investigated by the Justice Department after the conservative outlet The Blaze, citing an unidentified congressional source, reported last week that 274 FBI agents had been embedded in the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol.
Trump promoted The Blaze’s story on his social media platform on Saturday, saying “It was just revealed that the FBI had secretly placed, against all Rules, Regulations, Protocols, and Standards, 274 FBI Agents into the Crowd just prior to, and during, the January 6th Hoax. This is different from what Director Christopher Wray stated, over and over again! That’s right, as it now turns out, FBI Agents were at, and in, the January 6th Protest, probably acting as Agitators and Insurrectionists, but certainly not as “Law Enforcement Officials.”
“Christopher Wray, the then Director of the FBI, has some major explaining to do. That’s two in a row, Comey and Wray, who got caught LYING, with our Great Country at stake.”
The DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General found no evidence that the FBI had undercover employees in the protest crowd in a December 2024 report. It also said that the FBI deployed tactical resources to the Capitol after the building had been breached by rioters and reports of two pipe bombs discovered at the Republican and Democratic national party headquarters.
That report also said while there were 26 informants in Washington, D.C., who were dubbed within the FBI as “confidential human sources,” or CHSs, the IG uncovered no evidence suggesting that any were instructed to join the assault on the Capitol or otherwise encourage illegal activity by members of the mob.
The IG report did not find fault with agents being sent to the Capitol where law enforcement had been overwhelmed and thousands of federal crimes had been committed, ranging from trespass and assault on federal officers to seditious conspiracy.
It’s not immediately clear whether Wray will be placed under criminal investigation, but Trump’s interview with NBC and his social media posts over the weekend show he appears to be increasingly emboldened in the wake of Comey’s indictment to call for the prosecution of more political foes.
In comments to reporters outside of the White House last week, Trump suggested he expected more criminal charges to be brought against his opponents while denying he was applying any direct pressure to Justice Department leadership.
“It’s not a list, but I think there will be others,” Trump told reporters. “I hope there will be others.”
