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Ex-Obama spy chief prepped for anti-Trump trial by Biden-era special counsel's team, new records reveal
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers he had "never met" former CIA Director and vocal Trump critic John Brennan when pressed about whether Brennan provided consultation or counsel during his tenure, but records just declassified by the White House reveal members of Smith's team met with Brennan while preparing the classified-documents case against President Donald Trump.
The revelation about Brennan's meeting with Special Counsel Smith's team adds another wrinkle to Republicans' broader scrutiny of Smith's investigations into Trump, which has included claims of political bias, overreach and other investigative missteps.
"Jack Smith was a tool of the Biden administration to put Trump in prison," said Harvard Law professor and former Trump impeachment counsel, Alan Dershowitz, who described Smith's work as "a partisan weapon that broke the rules, lied to the court and engaged in bad faith throughout" in an 2025 Op-Ed for the Wall Street Journal. Another critic, investigative reporter John Solomon, recently described the probes as among a "10-year conspiracy to stop Donald Trump using the resources of the United States government."
Two assistant special counsels working under Smith joined FBI agents for a November 2023 meeting with Brennan at CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia, according to documents that were declassified Monday by the White House. The meeting was held "to discuss expert testimony to National Defense Information in the forthcoming trial," indicating prosecutors were exploring the possibility of using the former CIA chief's national security expertise as they prepared their case against Trump.
Meanwhile, Smith appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week as part of the Republican-led panel's oversight of his investigations into Trump. During the hearing, GOP lawmakers pressed Smith over allegations of political bias, investigative overreach and misconduct in both the Arctic Frost 2020 election probe and his classified-documents case known as "Plasmic Echo."
In particular, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Smith whether he had ever received "consultation or counsel" from Brennan, including during his tenure as special counsel.
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"Have you ever received any consultation or counsel by John Brennan, former CIA director, whether during your time as special counsel or otherwise? If so, when and for what purpose?" Grassley asked.
"I've never met John Brennan," Smith responded.
FORMER CIA DIRECTOR BRENNAN SUBPOENAED TO TESTIFY IN FEDERAL TRUMP CONSPIRACY CASE
Grassley's question, however, was broader than whether Smith personally met Brennan, and the newly declassified records show prosecutors working directly under Smith met with the former CIA director as they prepared the government's case against Trump.
"This meeting occurred during Jack Smith’s time as Special Counsel and constitutes ‘consultation or counsel’ from John Brennan to Smith and his team," Grassley told Fox News Digital. "Smith’s response before the Senate Judiciary Committee was highly evasive and misleading, at minimum."
During the hearing, Grassley later returned to the issue, asking Smith whether he had ever had a conversation with Brennan.
"I have no recollection of having a conversation with John Brennan," Smith responded.
In addition to the memo outlining the 2023 Brennan meeting, the declassified release also included two pages of notes bearing CIA Headquarters headers where lines of text beneath Brennan's name are blacked out by government redactions, leaving the remainder of the ruled pages blank.
Brennan was not serving as CIA director during the period covered by Smith's classified-documents case and the released records do not indicate he had firsthand knowledge of Trump's alleged handling of the documents.
Grassley, as well as other GOP lawmakers and critics, have accused the former special counsel of investigative overreach and political bias, including pointing to records showing his Arctic Frost investigation obtained financial information involving thousands of Trump donors and phone records of Republican lawmakers, among other investigative steps. Grassley has separately raised questions about the origins and conduct of Smith's classified-documents prosecution.
Smith, meanwhile, has rejected allegations that his investigations were politically motivated, and has maintained that his decisions were driven by the evidence and defending the work of prosecutors and investigators on his team.
Fox News Digital reached out to attorneys for Smith to obtain comment about the Brennan meeting, as well as the Justice Department, but did not receive a response.
Congress killed the penny — now it's coming for the 13-cent nickel
It's common sense that common cents are getting less use in Americans' daily lives. Congress already took action to eliminate the lowest rung — the penny — and now another coin collecting dust in people's wallets could be on the chopping block next.
The House and Senate both passed bills earlier this year aimed at eliminating the penny once and for all. The bipartisan Common Cents Act was unanimously approved in each chamber, but has yet to get President Donald Trump's signature to become law.
It followed the Treasury Department announcing last December that the U.S. Mint would no longer produce pennies, which at the time cost more than three times their value to make.
TRUMP’S FIRST-YEAR GOVERNMENT OVERHAUL DELIVERS CHANGE WASHINGTON HASN’T SEEN SINCE THE 1960S
Now, lawmakers want the administration to act on another portion of their bill, which would direct the Treasury to study the potential of making the nickel with cheaper materials than are currently used.
"If it costs 13 cents to make a five-cent coin, Washington should fix the problem instead of wasting more taxpayer money," House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told Fox News Digital. "My bill gives Treasury a path to make nickels at a lower cost without disrupting how Americans use them. It is a simple reform that saves money and brings a little more common sense to government.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who led the bill in the Senate, told Fox News Digital, "More and more Americans are paying with credit cards, debit cards, and stablecoins for everyday purchases that once would have been made with cash or coins."
"The half-cent coin was retired when it was no longer needed, and the penny has now reached that same point. It’s my hope that we can find a cheaper way to produce the nickel so that it remains economically viable for years to come," Lummis said.
Nickels are produced at a loss to taxpayers of roughly eight cents per coin, according to the latest data. They are currently made of a mixture comprised of 25% nickel and 75% copper.
The Common Cents Act "authorizes a lower-cost nickel composition if testing shows it will reduce production costs without significantly disrupting coin-operated machines," such as vending machines, according to a release on McClain's site.
But it's not clear that there is much appetite for ending nickel production altogether, at least not yet.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News in May 2025 that he believed the U.S. could "retool" the nickel to make it cheaper to produce.
In its December 2025 announcement, the Trump administration projected immediate cost savings of $56 million in stopping penny minting.
But the decision could be reversed by any future administration unless Trump signs the bill into law. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether and when the president plans to do so.
A blue wave in governors' mansions could hurt families more than a blue Congress
Unless we’re in for a surprise, polling suggests Republicans are on track to lose the House and possibly the Senate this November. The question is no longer whether Democrats will gain ground, but how big the blue wave will be. The battle for Congress has drawn plenty of attention and will continue to as we inch closer to Election Day.
What’s flying under the radar is that Republicans could lose not only Congress but their grip on governors' mansions, as well. As former Republican Governors Association chair Chris Christie told Politico, "for the first time in 15 years, we could be in a position to lose a majority of the governorships."
That loss would be an even bigger blow than losing Congress. Losing the House and the Senate to the Left is nothing to take lightly, especially if some of those candidates are aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America. But losing the states would be more consequential for Americans.
DEMOCRATS THINK A BLUE WAVE IS BUILDING. HERE ARE 3 FORCES THAT COULD STOP IT
Governors rarely dominate the national news cycle, but few elected officials have more influence over the lives of American families.
They oversee everything from education to public safety to infrastructure, and many control their state’s budget — setting spending priorities and deciding which programs receive funding. Working with their legislatures, they set the agenda on the issues that touch individuals most directly.
While Congress is inert, ineffective, and operating from the Imperial City, a governor shapes policies that reach into communities and neighborhoods.
Right now, Republicans hold 26 governorships to Democrats’ 24. The GOP has held that majority since 2011. But it may slip away come November.
Democrats’ momentum began last fall when Abigail Spanberger flipped Virginia’s governorship and Mikie Sherrill held New Jersey for her party. Just look at what Spanberger has advanced in Virginia with less than a year in office. She has revived DEI policies, backed an effort to bypass the bipartisan redistricting commission that the state Supreme Court ultimately struck down, and raised the minimum wage, making it harder for small businesses to keep up with rising costs.
Thirty-six states will choose a governor on November 3, with Republicans and Democrats each defending 18 seats. Of the 14 states not holding elections, Democrats hold six and Republicans hold eight.
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According to the Cook Political Report , 13 of this year’s races are solidly Democratic, including a few incumbents who’ve got their eyes on 2028 presidential aspirations: Illinois’ JB Pritzker, Maryland’s Wes Moore, and Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro.
Arizona, Oregon, Michigan, and, most troubling for Republicans — Iowa — all lean Democratic. Iowa hasn’t elected a Democratic governor in two decades but that could change this year as polls show gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand leading his Republican opponent Zach Lahn. Republicans’ best pickup opportunity is Kansas, where Democratic Governor Laura Kelly is term limited.
Then there are the five toss-ups: Alaska, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Four of them are Republican-held, leaving Wisconsin as the only one Democrats are defending. If Democrats just net two seats, they take the majority.
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These races are more than a scorecard of red versus blue. They’ll decide which party’s approach to governing shapes daily life in three dozen states for the next four years.
What’s more, the states and the governors who lead them serve as the last line of defense against an overreaching federal government. Democratic Socialists already have their eyes on 2028, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez increasingly talked about as a potential presidential contender. In the face of threats emanating from DC, governors could be the ones standing between a socialist agenda and the rest of the country. Americans should keep that in mind as they cast their votes for governor this fall.
Eco-warriors want to turn up the heat on your wallet to fund their climate agenda
If you think your energy bills are high now, just wait until the climate activists get their way. They’ve launched a massive, nationwide campaign of lawfare which, if successful, would raise the average household’s annual energy bill by almost $1,500 per year and nearly $15,000 over a decade. The Supreme Court is currently hearing one such case (Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County).
The campaign essentially has three avenues of attack: tort litigation, state "climate superfund" statutes and federal legislation. Each category represents enormous charges on upstream suppliers which, of course, will then move downstream to households at the pump and the meter.
Over 30 lawsuits demand that energy companies pay for unproven impacts on global climate change, with filings by 11 states, D.C., and dozens of cities. New York and Vermont simply legislated this liability into existence through climate superfund laws — the former capped at $75 billion with the latter leaving liabilities uncapped.
SUPREME COURT CAN RESTORE SANITY AND STOP THE LEFT’S RADICAL CLIMATE AGENDA
A dozen other states have tried similar penalties, as have members of Congress with the so-called Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act, which would confiscate $1 trillion over 10 years. Supporters insist none of this will hit families’ wallets, that assessments target past production and that shareholders will pay for it. Those claims don’t stand up to the facts.
Businesses must pass costs to consumers, and that’s exactly what will happen here, regardless of whether some government bureaucrat decrees specific costs to be from yesteryear. Those same firms must also price future risk, which would increase dramatically if business could be retroactively punished for legal activity 30 years ago.
LAWMAKERS TARGET ENERGY AFFORDABILITY THROUGH SWEEPING PERMITTING OVERHAUL IN NEW HOUSE BILL
For many power plants and energy infrastructure projects, which take decades to pay off and recoup initial investments, this additional risk means such projects may never even be undertaken. For those that do move forward, firms must charge consumers higher prices to counter the additional risk of fickle government potentially imposing massive fines.
And even if costs were confined to shareholders, as opposed to ratepayers or drivers filling up their tanks, those shareholders are still middle-class Americans. Energy stocks are held in pension funds and 401(k)s of blue-collar workers like teachers, pipefitters, firefighters, electricians and police officers.
THE DSA’S DANGEROUS FINE PRINT. THEY'RE COMING FOR MILLIONAIRES (AND YOU)
"Making shareholders pay" means raiding retirement accounts to finance the pet projects of climate activists, like carbon taxes. In fact, one of the lawyers who helped launch this climate lawfare crusade, David Bookbinder, even admitted that the desired outcome is an indirect carbon tax, with companies passing costs to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Our analysis agrees, putting the tab for all these lawsuits and legislative efforts at roughly $194 billion annually. For context, that’s an average of about 41 cents on a gallon of gasoline and 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, or a 9% jump in your electricity rate, while 41 cents per gallon is about four-fifths of all the federal and state gas taxes consumers already pay.
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The timing couldn’t be worse with electricity prices already up 7% last year and 9% again early this year. One in six households is behind on their energy bills, and one in four has cut spending on food or medicine to pay for them.
And since low-income families spend nearly four times the share of their income on energy as everyone else, the pseudo-carbon taxes of climate activists would be highly regressive. Perhaps to hide this fact, New Jersey legislators renamed their $50-billion assessment to the proposed "Polluters Pay to Make New Jersey More Affordable Act."
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But a nationwide carbon tax is unlikely to pass because Congress could be held accountable by voters for such an unpopular and costly measure. Conversely, a carbon tax cobbled together from court verdicts and retroactive assessments is an unconstitutional way to short-circuit voters’ ultimate veto.
That’s why Maryland’s Supreme Court threw out three of these suits early this year, observing that even precautions like perfect warning labels would’ve been a drop in the bucket of global emissions.
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But lawfare isn’t only about winning because the process is the punishment. Dismissals don’t absolve legal fees and other costs. Risk premiums rise in the face of lawfare, even when energy companies consistently win, and the associated costs eventually reach customers’ bills.
The better path is to produce more energy, not less, and thereby lower costs for consumers. Reliable power plants need to keep running and new ones should be added to fuel growing demand. The alternative from the other side is a $1,500 annual tax on households that no one voted for.
E.J. Antoni, Ph.D., is Chief Economist and the Richard F. Aster fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a senior fellow at Unleash Prosperity.
'I am Omer': Former Hamas hostage reflects on surviving 505 harrowing days in captivity
On Oct. 6, 2023, Omer Shem Tov and his family were celebrating his mother's birthday. Less than 24 hours later, Hamas terrorists kidnapped Shem Tov from the Nova Music Festival and held him hostage in Gaza for 505 days. Nearly three years later, Shem Tov is telling his story while trying to regain his sense of self.
In a conversation with Fox News Digital, Shem Tov recalled that when Hamas' attack started at 6:29 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2023, people at the festival took precautions, but were not panicked. He explained that "in Israel, we're very used to it." Thinking that the aerial attack was the only thing coming, festival goers, including Shem Tov and his friends, began packing up and heading to their cars to drive home. However, many of them never made it home and, as in Shem Tov's case, some came back much later.
In his book, "Light From the Darkness," Shem Tov recounts his experience of the attacks and throughout his time as a hostage in Gaza. He also opened up about having taken ecstasy shortly before the attacks began.
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"In my book, I talk about it, first of all, very openly, because I mean I want people to understand that I'm just like any other 20-year-old," Shem Tov told Fox News Digital. "I wanted to party. I wanted to have fun."
Shem Tov explained to Fox News Digital that he felt that the ecstasy, combined with his adrenaline, actually helped him "run faster and without stopping" as the attack began. He said that the feeling disappeared suddenly as terrorists got closer and began firing at him and his friends. Hours after being taken into Gaza, Shem Tov felt the effects again. He said it was "a very scary feeling."
The first 50 days of his captivity were spent in total darkness, in a cage so small he could not stand up or spread out his arms. Shem Tov, who is an asthmatic, said he had trouble breathing in the tiny space and that he was "starved in the most extreme way."
"I was in complete darkness, I couldn't see anything, and I just went crazy," Shem Tov told Fox News Digital, adding that in his mind, he was blaming God and "everyone else" for what had happened. "After a week, I got to a point where I realized that God has created me with the power of free will. I can choose to do whatever I want. I can choose to believe, I can choose not to believe. I can choose between good and bad and evil."
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"I realized that I have two choices: Either I sink into depression and I blame everyone and God for everything that happened to me and I just sink deeper and deeper until eventually I think that I would have just died of depression and broken heart, or either I look at the situation, and I try to make something good in some way out of it," he said.
While in complete darkness, Shem Tov said he was "crying to God" and telling Him, "God, from now on I trust you and I know that I'm in the right place, in the right time. This is exactly where I am supposed to be, and I'm in your hands from now on. Do as you wish, do as you will."
"From that moment on, I just saw light. I really did see light in complete darkness," he added.
While in captivity, Shem Tov faced extreme pressure from his captors, yet he refused to break even under the threat of death. When they ordered him to detonate traps against advancing Israel Defense Forces soldiers, he flatly refused. Even when his captors threatened to shoot him on the spot, Shem Tov held his ground and dared them to pull the trigger.
ISRAEL'S NEW EXHIBIT EXPOSES YEARS OF HAMAS TERRORIST PLANNING BEFORE OCT 7 MASSACRE
"There was some kind of red line that I cannot cross. I will just, I will not do it," Shem Tov told Fox News Digital. "If I wasn't in captivity, maybe I would be up there. Maybe I would fight for my brothers and my sisters that were hostages. So, that was my red line and I just couldn't do it, and I preferred to die than do it."
On Feb. 22, 2025, after enduring 505 days as a hostage, Shem Tov returned to Israel in a prisoners-for-hostages exchange between Israel and Hamas and was reunited with his family. He spent months advocating for the hostages still left in the Gaza Strip. The last of the living hostages were released on Oct. 13, 2025.
Shem Tov still travels to tell his story and speaks out against what he sees as a dangerous narrative gap in how the war is portrayed abroad. Recently, he wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal criticizing a controversial documentary called "NAZA," the Hebrew military acronym for "collateral damage." The film depicts casualties in Gaza and received a 25-minute standing ovation at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Shem Tov did not mince words when criticizing the film.
"It felt like 25 minutes of a rain of knives that just stabbed me," he told Fox News Digital. "The war in Gaza was horrible, horrible for both sides, but in the movie 'NAZA' they only showed one side. They didn't show my side. What about me? I was NAZA. I was collateral damage."
When reached for comment, representatives for the team behind "NAZA" referred Fox News Digital to previous statements made by directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.
During a Q&A following the North American premiere of NAZA, which took place at the 64th New York Film Festival, Abraham addressed the criticisms of the film, calling the Oct. 7 attacks "unjustified," while arguing that the barbarism of that day could not be used to defend Israel's actions.
"I think it's important for me to say that, you know, it's in the film, and it's — completely unjustified, the massacre of October the 7th, but it also cannot justify what you've seen in the film, doesn't justify the slaughter of so many civilians in Gaza, the the the massacres at food sites," Abraham said.
"When I was looking at those trucks, I thought, like, I don't want to live in a world where empathy, rightful empathy to Israeli victims is weaponized by leaders like Netan — you know, cynical people who promise nothing other than perpetual occupation and war, is weaponized to mean a lack of empathy to Palestinians," he continued.
Abraham was referring to protest trucks outside the screening that showed images of Oct. 7.
Shem Tov, however, maintains that the film's framing erases the reality of what happened during the Oct. 7 attacks and what brought the war to Gaza in the first place. He told Fox News Digital that he witnessed Hamas deliberately weaponizing the suffering of both the hostages and Palestinians as means of propaganda.
"They don't really care about who dies," Shem Tov said of Hamas. "For them, the more dead, the better."
"Seeing a standing [ovation] of 25 minutes was just, well, I can't explain how hurtful it was, how hurtful it was. Not seeing me, not seeing the true reason of what's happening there. And I mean, I think people just should know more, should learn more, should see more," he added.
Since his release from captivity, Shem Tov has witnessed this ideological divide firsthand while speaking at college campuses. He said that his visit to Columbia University was particularly triggering, as he had seen the encampments and people clad in keffiyehs on TV while he was being held hostage.
"It's sad that people are following trends in some ways," he told Fox News Digital. "Most of the students get their information from social media, and on social media, you can see a lot of lies, a lot of propaganda, and I think they should open a book. They should read more. They should learn more."
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Three years after he was taken from the Nova festival, Shem Tov continues to tell his story while also looking towards the future. He told Fox News Digital that, while he has embraced what he sees as a duty to tell his story for all those who cannot tell their own, he will not let the 505 days he spent as a hostage define his life.
"I don't run away for a second from what I've been through because I think what I've been through taught me a lot," he said. "I have my duty and I know what's my duty, and I will do anything to complete my job, but I'm much more than this, I am Omer."
DR MARC SIEGEL: I went looking for miracles after Oct. 7. I found angels hiding in plain sight
The Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, involved more than 6,000 Hamas and related military operatives. The massive damage inflicted by these demons caused a countersurge of angels released by God. There were miraculous recoveries and narrow escapes in the wake of these attacks, as well as good-versus-evil events that continue to this day.
On September 30, 2026, Flydubai Flight FZ1073 (note the coincidence — three years after 10/7) was nearly destroyed by evil as co-pilot Hamam al Hamami, a reported radical extremist, repeatedly attacked the pilot, only to be sidelined himself by several passengers, including a plumber, a dentist (who saved the pilot’s life by treating his wounds) and two off-duty pilots who happened to be on board. The angels of Flight FZ1073 saved not only the pilot but the plane and its passengers. They are messengers from God.
Miracles are often an accumulation of meaningful coincidences guided by messengers. In my new book, "The Angels Among Us," I tell the story of an Israeli medic named Shlomi who, a few weeks before October 7, 2023, gets a question wrong on a paramedic test about the application of combat gauze to a high thigh wound.
He studies his mistake until he becomes an expert on combat gauze. On January 11, 2024, the 55th Paratroopers Brigade is planning an incursion into Gaza in search of hostages. It is the 99th day of the war. Bezalel is an intelligence officer, drawing up a map with a photograph and a number on each building to help plan rescue operations. "I make a mistake in the number on one of the buildings. I give it the wrong number on the map in terms of the order… One officer peers at the sheet particularly closely. I have no idea at the moment about the role he will play in my survival."
DR. MARC SIEGEL: 'THE ANGELS AMONG US' -- A DYING WOMAN, THE SHOFAR AND THE MIRACLE THAT FOLLOWED
The officer figures out the right number for the building, and Bezalel corrects it on the map. "This particular building remains etched in his mind." Shlomi is supposed to go on vacation but has a premonition and stays with his troop, the 55th Paratroopers Brigade.
The next day, they conduct an infantry raid on the city of Khan Yunis in Gaza. Bezalel is inside a building, and as he passes near a window, an explosive is detonated outside. "There is shrapnel in my left leg, up at the beginning of the leg, and it damages the biggest blood vessel in my leg, the femoral artery, and there is no way to stop the blood, no tourniquet can help."
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Shlomi happens to be only five meters away from Bezalel. He successfully applies the combat gauze to save Bezalel’s life. He succeeds because he got the test question wrong and memorized the correct answer. The building they are in is the one that Bezalel mislabeled on the map of the area. The officer who comes to rescue Bezalel in the Humvee is the same one who corrected the number on the map. As a result, he gets there in time to save Bezalel’s life.
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Bezalel is taken by helicopter to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, where a team of highly trained surgeons operates on his artery. Afterward, he fights for his life in the ICU, followed by a long rehab process. Bezalel encounters God’s messengers every step of the way.
Many other miracles have taken place in Gaza since the start of the October 7 war. I have discovered countless examples of physical and psychological recovery among severely wounded soldiers and civilians in hospitals in Israel, thanks to courage combined with advanced medical care. Perhaps most striking is the story of one soldier who reportedly had a bullet stopped by a book of Psalms he was carrying in his vest.
Federal judge blocks Trump administration fines of up to $1.8M for migrants
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's attempts to fine migrants up to $1.8 million for failing to leave the country after receiving final deportation orders.
U.S. District Judge George O'Toole in Boston issued the ruling on Monday in response to a class-action lawsuit filed last year by two of the thousands of migrants who have received civil penalties from the Department of Homeland Security.
The judge granted preliminary relief to the plaintiffs, finding that the administration's process for imposing the fines violated federal law, and that migrants in the "economically precarious position" of addressing the fines could be pushed into "insolvency."
"The plaintiffs live in an economically precarious position even without the imposition of the government’s exorbitant fines," he wrote.
DHS ISSUES $84B IN FINES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS UNDER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
"They face the possible garnishment of their already modest wages, loss of any vehicles and homes, federal collections lawsuits and other adverse collateral consequences," O’Toole added. "If they were ultimately successful in this suit, there is no indication that simply requiring the government to vacate their fine notices would –– or even could, at that point –– make the plaintiffs whole or return the circumstances to the status quo."
O’Toole, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, described how the plaintiffs worked for low salaries and had come to the U.S. to escape political violence.
"Nancy M. was fined over $1.8 million," O’Toole wrote, referring to one of the plaintiffs. "She is a laborer working over 60 hours a week with two jobs, and she reports feeling serious anxiety affecting her ability to sleep, eat and live a normal life."
The judge also found that the administration's fine notices violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide specific allegations explaining why an individual's conduct warranted a penalty.
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.
As recently as July, DHS said it had issued more than 103,000 fines to migrants totaling about $84 billion since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
DHS has defended the penalties, saying people who refuse to leave the country after receiving a final order of removal could face fines of $998 per day.
Although Congress authorized civil penalties under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, no administration had attempted to impose the fines until Trump's first term.
Last year, the Trump administration began imposing fines of $998 per day for migrants who did not leave the country following a final order of deportation. The fines have been imposed retroactively for up to five years, with a maximum penalty of $1.8 million.
In July 2025, DHS and the Department of Justice implemented changes aimed at streamlining the assessment of fines by scrapping a 30-day notice period and shortening the process for challenging penalties.
The plaintiffs successfully challenged that policy and what they described as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy of issuing fines using boilerplate forms without independently assessing whether a person's failure to leave was "willful" or "voluntary."
O’Toole also found that the administration had failed to comply with rulemaking processes in implementing its streamlined fine-imposition process because it did not offer the public a chance to first comment on the policy change.
Congressional lawmakers have attempted to challenge the administration’s fines against migrants through the Immigration and Nationality Act. Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., urged DHS and DOJ to pause the "improper application of certain civil penalties" in the law to "law-abiding immigrants."
Reuters contributed to this report.
Padres hold off Brewers in must-win Game 3 to survive elimination and force Game 4 at Petco Park
The first two games of the National League Division Series matchup between the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers have been playoff baseball at its best.
Drama, late-inning heroics, the American Family Field roof suddenly coming into play, and series-changing moments between two of the best players in Major League Baseball. Game one saw William Contreras launch a go-ahead homer in the 7th inning, while Ty France tried to hit a go-ahead one in the top of the ninth, only to be thwarted by the roof support system in Milwaukee.
The Brewers held on to win that game, 3-2, setting up a must-win for the Padres in game two. Michael King out-dueled Logan Henderson, and the Padres' talented bullpen mostly held Milwaukee's lineup at bay ... until the bottom of the ninth inning.
CLOSER MASON MILLER HITS PATERNITY LIST 45 MINUTES BEFORE THE PADRES' SEASON IS ON THE LINE
All-world closer Mason Miller, starting his second inning of work, suddenly couldn't find the plate. After three walks in the inning, star outfielder Jackson Chourio crushed a line-drive single to center field, walking off the Padres and giving the Brewers a commanding 2-0 series lead with the series shifting to Petco Park.
With Miller pushed to 40 pitches on Sunday, his availability for Tuesday's must-win matchup was already in question. But some stunning pregame news, that he'd be placed on the paternity list and unavailable, removed any doubt.
Fortunately for San Diego, they had Nick Pivetta starting against Dustin May, seemingly providing a clear matchup advantage. Through the early part of the game, that's exactly how it played out.
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Pivetta used some spectacular defense from Jackson Merrill to work a scoreless first inning, with the young center fielder making a fantastic catch to rob Chourio of a double.
While Dustin May got through the first few innings unscathed, the third quickly unraveled. Samad Taylor singled and stole second, with Jake Cronenworth bunting him to third. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a run-scoring grounder to make it 1-0, followed by Merrill lacing a single to center.
He too stole second, and Manny Machado, struggling through the first two games, finally came through and drove in the second run to send the San Diego crowd into a frenzy.
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In the top of the fourth, Milwaukee struck back. William Contreras, coming off a down year by his standards, delivered again, launching a mammoth homer to left field off Pivetta. And he took his sweet time admiring it, adding some celebrations while rounding the bases.
That made it 2-1, and when the Padres worked a lead off walk in the bottom of the fourth, Brewers manager Pat Murphy didn't hesitate, removing May from the game and going to the strong Milwaukee bullpen.
Milwaukee didn't stay down for long. In the top of the fifth, Cooper Pratt and Sal Frelick set the table with back-to-back singles, allowing Jackson Chourio to knot the game at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly to center.
But Jake Cronenworth wasn't having it. In the bottom of the fifth, Cronenworth launched a majestic solo shot to right field off Antonio Senzatela, restoring San Diego's lead at 3-2 and sending Petco Park into a frenzy.
The Padres tacked on a crucial insurance run in the sixth when Xander Bogaerts came home on a Cooper Pratt throwing error to push the lead to 4-2.
Milwaukee battled back in the eighth, scratching across another run off Bradgley Rodríguez to cut the deficit to 4-3. But Padres manager Craig Stammen turned to starter-turned-reliever Michael King to finish the job. King tossed two gritty innings out of the bullpen, stranding the tying run in the ninth to secure the 4-3 victory.
With the 4-3 win, San Diego fended off the sweep, cut Milwaukee’s NLDS lead to 2-1, and set up a massive Game 4 at Petco Park.
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This entire series has been a showcase of top-tier baseball; elite pitching, powerful bullpens, and stars coming through in big moments. If this doesn't go five games, it'll be a missed opportunity for neutral fans who enjoy the drama of playoff baseball. Though Milwaukee is certainly hoping it doesn't.
French PM rejects police brutality claims after teens severely injured in protests: 'Accidents happen'
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu defended the police response to student protests after one teenager lost a hand in an incident involving a police grenade and another lost sight in one eye after being struck by a projectile.
In parliament on Tuesday, Lecornu pushed back on accusations of police brutality or state repression, adding that the term "police brutality" implies that officers had been instructed to use force, according to Politico.
"What triggers police action is the occurrence of urban violence," Lecornu said.
"Can accidents happen? The answer is yes," he added.
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Lecornu and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez have both argued that the police response was sparked by urban violence, arson and vandalism, while maintaining that officers have acted within their authority. Nuñez also called the police response proportionate in "almost all cases."
The prime minister also accused opposition party France Unbowed of exploiting the student protests to sow chaos and score political points ahead of next year’s presidential election.
President Emmanuel Macron convened an emergency meeting with senior ministers to address the nationwide student protests and their potential political fallout.
The French government is facing mounting pressure after more than 6,500 people were arrested and hundreds were injured as students demand better funding and learning conditions in schools. Most of those arrested were minors, according to the Associated Press.
Lecornu said 215 students and 85 school staff members had been injured since the protests began, while his office said 715 police officers had also been injured.
"I hope we can provide a political response to a very real anxiety among high school students," Lecornu acknowledged.
As Lecornu delivered his remarks on Tuesday, demonstrators from several French unions and teachers’ groups gathered with high school and university students. Members of France’s left-wing parties were also at the protest, according to Politico.
The Interior Ministry estimated that 266,000 people took part in demonstrations nationwide Tuesday, including 56,000 in Paris.
The Paris demonstration was largely peaceful, although smaller groups later clashed with riot police, according to the Associated Press.
The protesters' movement began at high schools in the Paris region in mid-September before spreading nationwide.
TEEN'S HAND BLOWN OFF BY POLICE GRENADE DURING FRENCH STUDENT PROTESTS: REPORT
On Monday, a 15-year-old boy in northern France lost a hand after a police grenade exploded during the protests, Politico reported. A prosecutor said he could not "say for certain whether the student picked up the grenade or whether it was thrown at him."
In the city of Tours, a 16-year-old lost sight in one eye after being hit by a projectile, according to the outlet. The prosecutor said the projectile may have been fired from a sub-lethal riot-control weapon used by police.
Boris Vallaud, leader of the center-left Socialist group in parliament, said the group's lawmakers would introduce legislation restricting the use of sub-lethal riot-control weapons at student demonstrations, warning that they can cause irreversible injuries, the outlet reported.
Former German spy chief arrested on suspicion of espionage, attempted treason
A former spy chief for Germany's foreign intelligence service was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason over allegations that he obtained classified documents and used secret information to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence service, prosecutors said.
August Hanning, 80, led Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, known as the BND, from 1998 to 2005.
According to federal prosecutors, Hanning is "strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason, and espionage."
A former aide, identified as Manfred D., was also arrested in western Germany and is accused of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage in connection with the case.
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Prosecutors said Manfred D. worked as Hanning’s chief of staff before going on to serve as chief of staff to several of Hanning's successors at the BND between March 2012 and March 2026, giving him access to confidential information.
Beginning in 2010, the men allegedly reached an agreement under which Manfred D. would routinely transmit intelligence to Hanning in exchange for payment.
The arrangement continued until June 2022, with Manfred D. allegedly providing Hanning with roughly 2,000 documents, many of which contained classified information intended strictly for internal use, according to prosecutors.
Hanning allegedly used the information in his private consulting work.
A spokesperson for the federal prosecutor’s office told German broadcaster RTL that investigators believe Hanning used classified information to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign intelligence service.
Prosecutors also said Hanning passed along information following extensive exchanges with an employee of another intelligence service.
German authorities have not publicly identified the foreign intelligence services allegedly involved.
The investigation grew out of an apparently unrelated case involving the 2024 abduction of the children of Hamburg businesswoman Christina Block during a custody dispute.
Prosecutors said Hanning's arrest stemmed from evidence gathered during that investigation.
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Hanning's arrest marks the first detention of a former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, according to Reuters.
Hanning and Manfred D. were expected to appear before a judge at Germany's Federal Court of Justice following their arrests.
Fox News Digital has reached out to GLOBSEC, where Hanning previously held an affiliation, for comment on his arrest and the allegations against him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.