Feds Blame Ebola as They Refuse to Bring Back Wrongly Deported Woman

The Trump administration is fighting a court order to bring back a Colombian immigrant it deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo, claiming it can’t do so because of the country’s Ebola outbreak.

Gothamist reports that the Department of Homeland Security is arguing that Adriana Zapata, 55, can’t come back to the U.S. even though she was deported to the country a month ago.

On Monday, DHS cited a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order preventing anyone from traveling to the U.S. from areas affected by the outbreak. Zapata’s lawyers say that she was deported to Congo well before the outbreak was announced, and she’s staying in the capital, Kinshasa, which hasn’t had any cases. On Tuesday, her lawyers pointed out in a court filing that Zapata already had medical conditions before being deported to a country that said it couldn’t care for her, and now she is particularly vulnerable in the midst of an Ebola outbreak.

At the time of Zapata’s deportation, Congolese officials said that they couldn’t care for her medical issues, which include “diabetes accompanied by black spots on her foot and back, peeling skin, blackened nails, and other manifestations consistent with severe vascular and metabolic disease.” In the U.S., she would get medical care with help from relatives in New Jersey. A federal judge ruled in 2024 that Zapata could not be returned to the country of her birth, Colombia, because she faced the likelihood of torture from her former intimate partner.

Last Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, appointed by President George W. Bush, ruled that the U.S. government had to bring Zapata back to the U.S. Zapata had sued the federal government, and described how her ex-partner, who has connections to the Colombian National Police, had physically and sexually abused her, including stabbing her in her genitalia, repeatedly raping her, breaking her teeth, and cutting cross-shaped scars into her chest.

On Friday, lawyers from the Department of Homeland Security responded to Leon’s ruling and claimed that they didn’t know where Zapata was and were working “diligently” to find her in Congo, claiming that Zapata’s attorneys hadn’t told them her location.

The next day, Zapata’s lawyers responded in their own filing, saying that DHS had not even reached out to them, pointing out that Zapata’s address in Congo was mentioned in earlier court filings and was shared with DHS in court the day before. On Monday, DHS lawyers tried another tactic, filing a status report asking for Leon to pause his order because the country’s Ebola outbreak, announced last week by Congolese officials, made it unsafe to bring her back to the U.S.

“The premise of plaintiff’s request for conditions upon her return is for her to receive medical monitoring in the United States,” Zapata’s lawyers wrote in the filing.

DHS claims that the Democratic Republic of Congo had sent documentation saying that it could care for Zapata, prompting skepticism from Zapata’s lawyers on Tuesday. They pointed out that as recently as last Wednesday, Congo hadn’t said it could care for Zapata and that the U.S. government was using its agreement with the country as its justification for deporting her.

Sending a woman with serious medical issues to a country she has no ties to is cruel enough. But refusing to obey a court order to allow her back into the U.S. because of an outbreak that arose after she was deported is an obscene act of callousness, even for this administration. It seems clear that they are grasping at legal straws to keep Zapata from returning, ignoring her own safety.

The Internal Revenue Services’ own lawyers wanted to convince the Justice Department to dismiss Trump’s $10 billion case against them, outlining several massive issues with the lawsuit that could have served as defense against the suit, according to The New York Times. The DOJ instead chose to settle with the president, awarding him a nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” a slush fund for his supporters and friends.

The 25-page IRS memorandum was given to top Treasury officials last month but it’s unclear if it ever made it to the DOJ. The memo stated that Trump’s lawsuit was filed two years too late. Federal statute requires that people suing the IRS for unfairly released tax information must do so within two years of the infraction. Trump claimed not to have known about the tax information leak until January 2024, but the memo notes that Alina Habba—one of Trump’s personal lawyers–was present at the trial of IRS leaker Charles Littlejohn in October 2023. Trump did not file a complaint until January 2026, over two years later.

The IRS also raised that it may not even be accountable for Littlejohn’s actions, as he was a contractor with Booz Allen with IRS access, not an IRS employee. Regardless of whether these arguments would have worked, it’s clear that the DOJ—controlled by another one of Trump’s personal lawyers—had no intention of making them.

The general manager of the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, has his hands in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s renovation.

David Schutzenhofer has run Donald Trump’s golf club since 2006, and is effectively consulting on the historic renovation as well as recruiting contractors to the job, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Schutzenhofer has no known training in engineering or architecture, according to the daily.

“Mr. Schutzenhofer is unpaid and is volunteering his time to offer suggestions on this project because he is an American patriot,” Katie Martin, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, told the Times in an email.

Martin specified that Schutzenhofer had provided guidance on the project without becoming a temporary government employee, which, she said, would have required additional ethics training and a pledge to avoid conflicts of interest. She added that Schutzenhofer did not “direct” any federal contracts.

The Interior Department did not elaborate on the specifics of Schutzenhofer’s role with the renovation, which is expected to cost upward of $13.1 million (Trump had initially promised the price tag would hover around $1.8 million).

The White House also dodged questions regarding Schutzenhofer’s involvement. In an email, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the Times: “Thanks to President Trump, the Reflecting Pool will be restored to its proper glory!”

Fixing the Reflecting Pool is a headache that’s plagued pretty much every administration since its construction in 1923.

What makes the Reflecting Pool beautiful is exactly what makes it so difficult to maintain. The pool’s expansive length is possible due to the use of multiple large concrete slabs at its bottom. But those slabs are also prone to serious structural leaks, which requires the White House to replace roughly 16 million gallons of water each year.

But the pool’s shallow depth—which creates its mirrorlike appearance—also detracts from the pool’s health by creating a breeding ground for algal blooms that turn the water green.

The solution, according to Trump, is to paint the bottom of the pool a color that he has described as “American flag blue” ahead of the country’s semiquincentennial anniversary.

Unfortunately for taxpayers, the pricey makeover is unlikely to fix the pool’s fundamental problems.

One of the first of Donald Trump’s many presidential scandals was in 2016, when he refused to release his tax returns as previous presidents and presidential candidates had done for 40 years.

On Tuesday, Trump’s Department of Justice essentially ensured his taxes would never be properly audited again.

As part of a settlement between the president and the IRS, the DOJ “forever barred and precluded” the IRS from pursuing Trump, his family members, and his companies over any unpaid taxes.

This key addition to the settlement was signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. It was not released as part of the publicly available settlement agreement on Monday. Instead, the details were unceremoniously posted to the DOJ’s website a day later. Readers may recall that Blanche took over after Trump reportedly grew frustrated with Pam Bondi’s ability to secure indictments against his political enemies.

Trump has been investigated by the IRS since he was just a humble casino owner. He even falsely claimed that a tax audit meant he could not release his tax returns during his first term (the IRS commissioner clarified that he totally could if he wanted).

Protection from future audits could save the president tons of money in fines. In 2024, The New York Times found one such audit could cost Trump over $100 million.

The settlement is a result of Trump dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS after an employee leaked his tax returns to the Times and ProPublica between 2018 and 2020. Since the suit was dropped, the IRS has also agreed to create a slush fund worth nearly $1.8 billion to pay January 6 rioters and members of Trump’s own super PAC who are deemed to have been unfairly persecuted by the Biden administration.

Critics had already labeled the fund one of the most blatantly fraudulent creations of Trump’s second term. Now Trump and his allies appear to have swindled the federal government for yet more financial and legal gain.

This story has been updated.

President Trump’s decision to endorse Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race has left many Republicans fuming.

Paxton, Texas’s scandal-plagued attorney general, is in a runoff in the state’s Republican primary against incumbent John Cornyn, who has the support of many of his Senate colleagues. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska reportedly told The Hill that she was “supremely disappointed” by Trump’s endorsement, adding, “I don’t understand it.”

Murkowski also said that Republicans will likely have a tougher time retaining the seat against Democratic nominee James Talarico, who is polling very well.

“Based on the numbers that I’ve seen, yeah,” Murkowski said, regarding the risk that the GOP will lose the Senate. “How does that help strengthen the president’s hand when we lose a state like Texas?”

Senator Susan Collins said that she didn’t understand why Trump endorsed Paxton, calling him an “ethically challenged individual” due to his many scandals, which include defrauding investors in a tech startup and an extramarital affair leading to his wife divorcing him on “biblical grounds.”

“John Cornyn is an outstanding senator and deserved in my judgment the president’s support. Obviously it’s the president’s call but I’m disappointed that he did it,” Collins told The Hill.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who for months tried to lobby Trump to support Cornyn, had a serious expression when reporters asked him Tuesday about the president’s endorsement, only saying, “It’s his decision.” Senator Roger Wicker walked into a lunch meeting with his head bowed and ignored reporters’ questions about the endorsement.

“I’m speechless,” Senator Rob Johnson told CNN’s Manu Raju when asked about Trump’s choice, taking a long pause before answering, adding that he “really [had] no comment.”

Unlike his colleagues, Senator Lindsey Graham was optimistic, telling Raju that “you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the pathway for Paxton is there, but it’s more uphill, and it will cost more.”

In Trump’s own words, “Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate.” In contrast, while Trump said Cornyn is a “good man, and I worked well with him,” the incumbent senator “was not supportive of me when times were tough” and “was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination, and then, the Presidency, itself.”

If Trump’s endorsement propels Paxton to win in next week’s runoff, Democrats may have a better shot at winning the race, as Paxton’s scandals give him a lot in common with the president. But Texas is a strong Republican state that voted for Trump three times, so nothing is certain.

Eighteen survivors of millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein accused acting Attorney General Todd Blanche of lying under oath on Tuesday during a Senate Appropriations hearing, claiming he met with the survivors and their lawyers when he never did.

“Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not met with any of us. As survivors, we previously sought a meeting with former Attorney General Bondi and Department of Justice officials, but no meeting occurred,” the survivors said in a statement. “We should not have to be this persistent to engage with DOJ—the department responsible for handling the Epstein files, protecting their privacy, and answering for years of secrecy and failure.

“We have already reported abuse and allegations involving Epstein and associated perpetrators to the FBI and federal authorities many times over the course of years. We should not be asked to relive their trauma again and again because the system failed to act. The burden is not on us to keep making reports. It is on the DOJ to investigate credible allegations against perpetrators and co-conspirators, and to account for the government’s mishandling of these matters,” they continued. “Given Blanche’s comments, we are again asking DOJ to meet directly with survivors and their counsel not to ask survivors to start over, but to hear their concerns, explain how these failures occurred, and provide clear answers about the release, redaction, and withholding of Epstein-related records going forward.”

Blanche claimed to have met with the survivors and their lawyers, during an exchange with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen.

“I spoke to the representatives of some of the Epstein survivors yesterday. They are extremely frustrated that you keep calling for people to come forward with more evidence, but you have not met with them to hear their stories,” Van Hollen said. “So simple question: If I connect you with these survivors, will you meet with them?”

“Absolutely. And what you just said is false. I have met with them. I’ve met with many of the lawyers for the survivors of victims, as did Attorney General Bondi,” Blanche replied. “So whoever told you that unfortunately gave you bad information. I would encourage them to reach out to the Department of Justice.… We absolutely care for victims and we absolutely wanna hear from them and their lawyers.”

“Well I’ve been told directly,” Van Hollen said. “They have not had a chance, at least this group, to meet with you.”

Now it’s the word of the president’s former personal lawyer against the word of 18 Epstein survivors.

In an interview on Fox News, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin blamed Democrats’ refusal to fund ICE for the mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday and said places of worship should “hire their own security.”

“President Trump has assemblied [sic] a great team in Kash Patel, myself, the White House,” Mullin stated. “We work together all the time to work with these religious establishments. We’ve had FEMA grants they can use to help protect themselves. Unfortunately, for the last 76 days we were shut down, so we’re just not getting those grants out, so they have to hire their own security.”

Mullin is twisting the truth here; FEMA, along with the rest of the Department of Homeland Security, was fully funded 19 days ago. FEMA could have been funded far earlier if congressional Republicans agreed to separate ICE funding from the rest of DHS, which was discussed as early as February.

More importantly, though, are grants for more guns and security around places of worship really the way to go to stop shootings? How about, you know, gun control? The thing that’s successfully curbed mass shootings in dozens of other countries around the world?

To stop shootings at Muslim centers, how about ending the Islamophobic, white nationalist rhetoric that Donald Trump and his Cabinet frequently espouse? Mullin himself is one of the most bellicose government officials in recent memory. He said he understood why a crazed neighbor attacked Senator Rand Paul in 2017, and has made public threats to kill journalists, which he downplayed as joking around after media backlash.

Unsurprisingly, Fox News sleazebag Sean Hannity did not question Mullin’s ridiculous comments on Monday night, nor did he point out that the Islamic Center actually had hired a private security guard, who was killed in the shooting. Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, was credited by local police with preventing more deaths.

Hannity instead opted to fearmonger and ignore the religious aspect of the shooting. “Let’s protect our homeland,” he sneered.

San Diego police say they are investigating the shooting as a hate crime.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche can’t handle the heat created by his own office.

The Justice Department chief immediately lashed out while getting grilled on Capitol Hill Tuesday, accusing Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of lying about a very real case in which a pardoned January 6er—Andrew Paul Johnson—was found guilty of child molestation shortly after Donald Trump freed him.

“That person actually tried to buy the silence of these children by saying that he would pay them some of the funds he was hoping to get from your slush fund,” Van Hollen said, referring to the Justice Department’s forthcoming $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” a taxpayer-funded initiative to effectively give reparations to allies of the president, including riot defendants.

“Can you commit to making the rules so that that person is not eligible for a payout under this fund?” asked Van Hollen.

But Blanche could not provide a simple, affirmative answer.

“Well you’re obviously lying in your question, because there’s no way this person committed to that,” Blanche said. “The slush fund, as you call it, which is not—but I can’t commit—”

“Mr. Attorney General, don’t ever do that again,” Van Hollen interjected, pointing his finger. “I am reporting what he said. He said on the expectation that he hoped to get some of the funds from a payout.”

“But you said from the slush fund, senator, and that didn’t exist when he said that,” Blanche refuted.

“This is the fund that the president and all of you have been telegraphing, all along, would use to help the president’s friends,” Van Hollen clarified.

Later in the same exchange, Van Hollen accused Blanche of being ignorant and unaware of critical happenings under the purview of his office. Blanche, in turn, continued to deflect.

U.S. pardon attorney Ed Martin and DOJ official Jonathan Gross are just two of the figures within the Trump administration who have advocated for financially compensating those that stormed the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.

Last year, Martin told right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson that it would be “only fair” to make the rioters “whole.”

Gross said on a podcast in December 2024 that “there has to be compensation.”

“People’s lives have been destroyed,” Gross said at the time. “And the way they can do that is they can just let everybody file a lawsuit and settle the lawsuits.”

Democrats attempted to stave off such payments in January, when California Senator Alex Padilla introduced the “No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act,” but the bill has made no progress since.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared to be panicking during a Senate Appropriations hearing Tuesday as he tried to justify President Trump’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and his own visit with convicted child sex offender and Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. 

“You’re gonna assure us that President Trump will get no proceeds from this [fund] … his family will not get [any proceeds]?” Democratic Senator Jack Reed asked in an intense line of questioning on the recently announced $1.8 billion fund.

“Correct,” replied Blanche. 

“And who will direct the distribution of these, who gets the money?” 

“From the victims’ fund? Well, there’ll be a commission of five individuals that’ll be set up, and they’ll take in requests and claims and decide whether to do anything—”

“Who will name the commissioners?” Reed interrupted. 

“I will … whoever the attorney general is … and one of them will be done in consultation with leadership of this body,” said Blanche, ignoring reports that Trump himself will have ultimate say on who remains on the committee.

After pointing to the resignation of the top lawyer at the Department of Treasury following the announcement of the fund, Reed again tried to point out the lines being crossed with the fund.

“This all seems to be an obvious abuse of power by the Department of Justice, by the president,” the Rhode Island senator said. “He negotiated essentially with himself. You’re his appointee. The IRS are his appointees. He’s the plaintiff. And the American people I don’t think are surprised that certainly all this money is going to his friends, or people … in his orbit. Will you ensure that none of this money goes to anyone convicted in the January 6 attack on the Congress?”

“Well, the commissioners will determine who is eligible to receive the money,” Blanche replied. 

“Who are the commissioners?”

“They’re not named yet.”

“Who will name them?” 

“The attorney general will. It’s not me.” 

“With the suggestion of the president of the United States, your boss?”

“I have no idea if he will or not. I really don’t.” 

“I would be shocked if he didn’t tell you exactly who to put on, and I’d be more shocked if you did not put them on. This is a travesty of the law.” 

Reed then pivoted hard to Blanche’s interview with Maxwell and her special treatment in prison. 

“You had an opportunity to go down and talk to Ghislaine Maxwell. And then a few days later she was transferred from a high-security prison to a very comfortable, very comfortable—” 

“That’s not true. It’s just not true,” Blanche responded. “She was transferred from a low-security prison to a low-security prison. You’re looking at me.… That’s verifiable.” 

“Well I don’t think at the other prison she had her own room, she had access to a private shower, she could have pet therapy—” 

“I don’t know if any of that is true, I’m not disagreeing with you—”

“It is true, and you should know it,” said Reed.

“I should know that? Whether an inmate has access to her own shower?” 

“No, no. This is a person of extra special interest to the president of the United States. He’s known her. Why did he send you down to talk to her?” 

“He didn’t send me. I went. You think President Trump called and asked me to go interview a witness in federal prison? I didn’t!” 

“Yes, I do, frankly,” said Reed, talking over Blanche. “Because you know what? The deal was in. He needed someone he could rely upon to talk to her and say, ‘What would she say if she was asked about Jeffery Epstein?’ And you were the perfect choice. And you went down there and suddenly, shazam! She’s out of what is a more confining situation into a much more relaxed federal prison.” 

“Every word that I asked her is recorded and available for you to review,” Blanche said, ignoring the question about Maxwell’s new digs, which included special access to staff-only areas and a service puppy, according to The New York Times.  

“This hearing I think is exposing something, which is to me very frightening,” Reed replied. “From my perspective, you have very little faith to the Constitution and the people of America, and you’re the president’s consigliere.” 

“Your perspective is completely wrong, senator,” said Blanche.

“Well, I think the facts will prove me right. Thank you.”

In a brilliant metaphor for the state of our country, billionaire and septuagenarian President Donald J. Trump stood next to a massive hole in the White House lawn to give a press conference on Tuesday.

Trump is attempting to have an enormous ballroom for himself built in the hole—more fitting symbolism given the state of the American economy.

At the press conference, Trump picked up a poster-board mock-up of the ballroom and began to ramble.

“It’s so beautiful,” Trump said, holding the mock-up to his chest. “See, I look so thin. They’ll say, ‘Oh, he’s gotten so thin.’ It’s because I’m holding this. You don’t have to look at my waist. You can look at this. You saw enough of my waist all over President Xi in China.”

A few things here. First, the fact this is one of the more coherent jokes delivered by the president during his second term should tell us all something about the state of his mental health.

Secondly, Trump’s waist was “all over” Xi Jinping during his China trip? Phrasing, dude.

Thirdly, this is a rare piece of self-deprecating humor from our commander in chief, who almost never jokes about his own pudginess. Indeed, Trump’s bodily measurements have been contentious for years—his 2025 medical listed him at six feet, three inches tall and 224 pounds, which was comparable to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.

That medical exam, however, also revealed that Trump’s body mass index was in the “overweight” category. (Trump fell into the “obese” category in 2020, so this was actually an improvement.) That, plus the president’s penchant for Diet Coke and McDonalds, means even an egotist like Trump understands he’s no Chalamet.

Trump has for months claimed the ballroom project will be entirely funded through “donations,” but Senate Republicans, at the president’s request, have directed $1 billion in taxpayer money to go toward ballroom “security.” The allotment was recently deemed spurious by the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian, so Trump has, of course, moved to have her fired.

Tuesday’s press conference above the pit was actually catered by the White House. Bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches, Coca-Cola, and Diet Coke were on offer, with nary a fruit or vegetable to be seen.