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President Donald Trump is calling for criminal prosecutions against former special counsel Jack Smith and members of his team after a former federal prosecutor connected to Smith’s classified documents case was charged with allegedly funneling sealed Justice Department records to her private email accounts.

“Deranged Jack Smith and his ‘gang’ are really bad news. Can never be allowed to happen again,” Trump wrote Wednesday night on Truth Social. “They should all be prosecuted!”

Trump’s remarks came shortly after the Justice Department revealed charges against Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, a former managing assistant U.S. attorney in South Florida who worked on issues tied to Smith’s investigation into documents kept at Mar-a-Lago.

According to federal prosecutors, Lineberger secretly transferred sensitive DOJ materials — including portions of Smith’s unreleased report on the classified documents case — to personal Gmail and Hotmail accounts, allegedly disguising the files as baking recipes in an effort to avoid detection.

Investigators say the files were relabeled with names such as “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” and “Chocolate_cake_recipe.pdf” to conceal the contents.

Prosecutors allege the records included sealed investigative documents and internal Justice Department communications that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had specifically ordered kept confidential.

Lineberger, 62, appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach on Wednesday and entered a plea of not guilty.

She has been charged with obstruction of justice, theft of government property, and concealment of official records. A conviction on all counts could expose her to a lengthy prison sentence stretching decades.

FBI Director Kash Patel sharply criticized the alleged misconduct in a statement posted to X.

“This FBI will not hesitate to bring to account those who violated the trust of the American public in an investigation that should’ve never been brought to begin with,” Patel wrote.

The charges against Lineberger are expected to fuel additional scrutiny over Smith’s prosecution of Trump regarding classified materials retained at Mar-a-Lago after his first term in office.

Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the case in 2024, determining that Smith’s appointment as special counsel violated constitutional requirements.

Smith eventually dropped his appeal after Trump won reelection.

The unreleased section of Smith’s final report — the same material prosecutors say was emailed by Lineberger — has remained under seal and has never been made public.

Trump’s legal team previously argued that releasing the report would improperly disclose privileged information and grand jury material while violating constitutional safeguards.

The Justice Department had supported Cannon’s ruling preventing the report from being distributed outside official departmental channels.

In recent years, Lineberger also attracted attention for backing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs promoted during the Biden administration and for participating in implicit bias initiatives connected to the National Black Prosecutors Association, according to Just the News.

Because of Lineberger’s professional ties to the Southern District of Florida office where she previously worked, the case is being handled by prosecutors from the Northern District of Florida to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

{Matzav.com}

The woman prosecutors identified as the mastermind behind a massive Minnesota pandemic fraud operation that siphoned away $250 million intended to feed needy children has been sentenced to 41 years behind bars.

Aimee Bock, 45, received the lengthy prison term Tuesday after a jury convicted her in March on every charge she faced. Federal prosecutors called her the “ringleader” of what they described as one of the largest COVID-era fraud operations uncovered anywhere in the United States.

Most of the defendants charged in the sprawling case are Somali immigrants, while the food assistance was intended to benefit members of Minnesota’s Somali community.

In addition to the prison sentence, Bock was ordered to repay $5.2 million.

According to prosecutors, Bock and fellow defendant Salim Said falsely reported serving 91 million meals through the program. Authorities said the pair instead diverted hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money to support extravagant personal spending, Acting US Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said following the convictions.

Federal investigators said the nonprofit organization Feeding Our Future exploded from receiving roughly $3 million in federal funding to taking in more than $200 million by 2021. When officials at the Minnesota Department of Education began scrutinizing the dramatic increase, prosecutors said Bock responded by suing the agency, allowing the federal money to continue pouring in.

The scheme finally began to unravel in January 2022, when the FBI, IRS, and other federal authorities carried out coordinated raids at 26 sites across Minnesota suspected of participating in the fraud network.

To date, authorities have charged 79 individuals in connection with the Feeding Our Future scandal, and more than 60 people have already been convicted.

{Matzav.com}

In a column published today ahead of Shavuos, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also the chairman of the Religious Zionism Party, examined the interconnection between the giving of the Torah, the offering of bikkurim, and Jewish settlement in Israel.

Smotrich contended that while some might see these elements as distinct aspects, they actually serve as a unified representation of the relationship among the Jewish people, the Torah, and the land itself.

He articulated that Shavuos embodies both “the spirit and the book” alongside “the soil, the tractor, and the agricultural produce born of our labor.” He stressed that the Torah “is not disconnected from life,” emphasizing its ties to the commandments associated with the land and the joy experienced by farmers as they present their initial harvests in Jerusalem.

The finance minister noted the resurgence of first-fruits celebrations during the period of Zionist settlement, asserting that the pioneers “did not invent a new holiday,” but rather brought back a long-lost custom that faded during years of exile. He remarked that this revival symbolizes a deep connection between the spiritual and the tangible, as well as between the Torah and the Land of Israel.

Smotrich further commented that “Zionism without a connection to Torah is a body without a soul, and it becomes lost,” making it clear that the Torah was never meant to be confined solely within academic settings.

“The Torah was given so that we would illuminate all of reality through it – the field and the battlefield, the economy and the culture,” he explained, highlighting its comprehensive significance.

Concluding his column, Smotrich touched upon the prevailing security situation and the relevance of Torah study alongside military service. He reflected, “When we see fighters who combine book and sword, who charge forward with a sacred book in their uniform pocket, and some of whom tragically do not return, we understand the depth of this connection.”

He expressed that on the night of Shavuos, “we will reconnect to the giving of the Torah, and through it continue to build and develop our land and our state.”

{Matzav.com}

UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis has strongly criticized Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for mocking Gaza flotilla activists and sharing a video documenting his actions on social media. “I have rarely seen the Jewish world so united in revulsion than in its response to this shameful display. Such conduct is the very antithesis of our core Jewish values and an awful Chillul Hashem,” Rabbi Mirvis remarked.

The uproar began on Wednesday, following Ben-Gvir’s visit to an Ashdod Port facility where Gaza flotilla activists were being detained. During this visit, he confronted those held and subsequently shared video footage of both the confrontation and their treatment online.

The fallout from this incident provoked significant international backlash, prompting several nations to summon Israeli ambassadors to address the matter and calls for sanctions against Ben-Gvir.

On Thursday morning, the UK government summoned the Israeli Chargé d’Affaires to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in light of the video posted by Ben-Gvir. A statement issued by the Foreign Office noted: “This behaviour violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity for people. We are also deeply concerned by the detention conditions depicted and have demanded an explanation from the Israeli authorities. We made clear their obligations to protect the rights of all those involved.”

In the wake of this situation, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar denounced Ben-Gvir’s actions, claiming he “knowingly caused harm to our State in this disgraceful display – and not for the first time. You have undone tremendous, professional, and successful efforts made by so many people – from IDF soldiers to Foreign Ministry staff and many others.” He added, “No, you are not the face of Israel.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also expressed his disapproval of Ben-Gvir’s actions: “Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza. However, the way that Minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms. I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs as soon as possible.”

{Matzav.com}

A 26-year-old yungerman from Ofakim was arrested overnight at a gas station between Netivot and Ofakim after military authorities identified him as a draft evader wanted for military service.

The arrest took place just hours before the start of Shavuos, when traffic police conducting a routine inspection discovered that the young man was listed in military records as absent from IDF service. He was subsequently transferred to the custody of the military police.

According to reports from the Nosnim Gav organization, the avreich was taken to Ir HaBahadim for further processing and to determine possible punishment.

The organization stated that “the case is currently being reviewed by professional representatives and attorneys accompanying the family.”

The group also called on the public to daven for the swift release of Tzuriel ben Simcha.

The arrest comes amid growing tensions surrounding enforcement efforts against chareidi draft evaders and follows reports released ahead of Shavuos indicating that nine chareidi young men classified as deserters are expected to spend Yom Tov in military prison.

Organizations involved in assisting draft evaders and deserters say the number of arrests has increased in recent weeks, attributing the rise to heightened enforcement activity by military authorities.

The arrest has generated significant anger in chareidi circles, particularly because it occurred only hours before Yom Tov and involved a married avreich and young father whose life is devoted to Torah learning.

{Matzav.com}

Monday’s deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, which claimed the lives of three men, has once again placed the mosque under intense public scrutiny due to both its historical connections to two September 11 hijackers and more recent outrage over inflammatory anti-Israel remarks made by its imam and members of his family.

Federal and local authorities are treating the attack as a hate crime after investigators said two teenage suspects — Caleb Liam Vazquez, 18, and Cain Lee Clark, 17 — allegedly opened fire inside the mosque before later being discovered dead in a nearby vehicle from what officials believe were self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Law enforcement sources said investigators uncovered Nazi paraphernalia, extremist manifestos, and antisemitic writings tied to the suspects, who authorities described as adherents of neo-Nazi ideology.

As investigators worked to piece together the motive behind the attack, attention also shifted back to the controversial history of the Islamic Center of San Diego, including longstanding questions surrounding individuals connected to the mosque and the September 11 terror attacks, as well as criticism directed at Imam Taha Hassane over comments defending what he described as Palestinian “resistance.”

The mosque first became the subject of national attention after it was revealed that two of the September 11 hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, attended services there while residing in San Diego. The 9/11 Commission later examined allegations that people affiliated with the mosque community assisted the pair with housing and logistical support after they arrived in California. Subsequent reports alleged that associates connected to the mosque also helped the hijackers obtain identification documents, buy a vehicle, and gain access to financial resources. The commission, however, did not determine that mosque officials or congregants knowingly participated in the terrorist conspiracy.

Separate reports further alleged that members of the mosque community organized a welcoming event for the hijackers shortly after their arrival in San Diego in 2000.

In more recent years, controversy surrounding the mosque centered largely on Hassane, who has served as imam there since 2004. Following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel — in which approximately 1,200 people were murdered and more than 250 were kidnapped in the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust — Hassane faced backlash for comments widely viewed as justifying the violence.

“This did not start last week or on October 7th,” Hassane said in a video posted to social media days after the attack. “This is the result of brutal Zionist occupation and genocide.”

Hassane later promoted the sermon on Instagram, writing: “Resistance is justified when people are under occupation and don’t let them change that narrative.”

His rhetoric intensified in the weeks that followed. During an October 20 sermon delivered less than two weeks after the Hamas massacre, Hassane again defended what he repeatedly referred to as “resistance.”

“When people are occupied, then the resistance is justified,” Hassane said. “We cannot accuse somebody who is fighting for his life to be a terrorist. The terrorist is the one who started the occupation, not the one who is defending himself.”

The criticism surrounding Hassane did not end after the immediate aftermath of October 7. In subsequent months, his public statements and activism continued attracting attention over his harsh anti-Israel rhetoric and support for radical anti-Israel campaigns.

In January 2024, Hassane accused Israel of enforcing “apartheid.” Not long afterward, he posted online: “Zionism is Islamophobia!”

Several months later, in May 2024, Hassane publicly backed anti-Israel protest encampments at the University of California, San Diego. He appeared alongside demonstrators and urged university officials to “boycott and divest from Israel.”

Members of Hassane’s family also became embroiled in controversy over anti-Israel activism and inflammatory social media activity.

According to watchdog organization Canary Mission, Hassane’s daughter, Selma Hassane, “promoted incitement, spread hatred of Israel, engaged in anti-Israel activism and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.”

Canary Mission documented years of activism tied to Selma Hassane, including involvement with the controversial campus organization Students for Justice in Palestine, participation in anti-Israel demonstrations, and organizing efforts in support of Palestinian causes.

Meanwhile, Hassane’s wife, Lallia Allali, drew widespread condemnation after reposting an image weeks following the October 7 attacks that depicted a Star of David decapitating five babies alongside the phrase: “The devil is killing.”

The fallout from the post quickly spread into her professional life. At the time, Allali served on the San Diego Union-Tribune Community Advisory Board as an emeritus member and regularly contributed commentary focused on interfaith understanding and “Islamophobia.” She also taught at the University of San Diego and authored academic work addressing anti-Muslim bias.

The San Diego Union-Tribune later denounced the image as “a graphic and deplorable antisemitic image,” adding that after verifying the repost, “we accepted her resignation and removed her from the list of board members and contributors on our website.”

The University of San Diego also announced that Allali would no longer teach at the institution, stating: “While individuals have the right to express their views on their personal accounts, they do not reflect the views of USD leadership nor any official position of the university.”

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean and global social action director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, strongly condemned the repost at the time, calling it a contemporary “blood libel” and labeling the imagery “despicable and deplorable.”

Residents living near the mosque also told the New York Post that relations between the Islamic Center and surrounding neighborhoods became increasingly strained after the October 7 attacks, particularly due to concerns involving a nearby Hebrew-language charter school.

“Hassane was supposed to bridge all the communities, but quickly became a hostile figure,” local journalist and parent Stella Escobedo told the outlet.

{Matzav.com}

A survivor of the Nova music festival massacre has revealed how a scar she carried since childhood may have ultimately saved her life after Hamas terrorists nearly abducted her to Gaza during the October 7 attack.

Mai Chayat, 33, from Tel Aviv, shared her harrowing account while visiting London ahead of the opening of a new exhibition documenting the atrocities committed at the Nova festival in southern Israel.

The exhibition, which will run for six weeks in the Shoreditch section of London, aims to show visitors how what began as a music festival suddenly turned into a scene of mass terror and slaughter.

During the Hamas attack on the Nova festival, 413 people were murdered and another 44 were kidnapped and taken into Gaza. At the same time, Hamas terrorists stormed nearby Israeli communities, including Be’eri, Kfar Aza, and Nir Oz, carrying out brutal massacres against civilians.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Chayat recounted how she fled as gunfire erupted around the festival grounds, with bullets flying overhead as she ran for safety.

At one point during her escape, she noticed an abandoned ambulance in an open field where several young people had already taken shelter.

“I got inside, but something told me it was a death trap,” she recalled.

That instinct proved lifesaving. Shortly after she fled the ambulance, Hamas terrorists opened fire on the vehicle, which later became known as the “death ambulance.” Everyone hiding inside was murdered.

Later, Chayat spotted a man waving to her from a nearby field. Initially terrified that he might be a terrorist, she soon realized he was another festivalgoer. The two entered a vehicle together, but terrorists quickly began shooting at them.

“I saw bodies, burned cars and smoke everywhere,” she said. “I lay on the floor of the car, put the siddur on my head and began reciting Shema.”

After the vehicle was struck by gunfire and came to a stop, Chayat continued fleeing together with the man she had met, Avi Dadon hy”d. At one point, the two fell to the ground and pretended to be dead, but Hamas terrorists discovered them.

According to Chayat, eight terrorists dressed in civilian clothing surrounded them while armed with knives, hammers, and clubs.

The terrorists initially seized Chayat and then pulled Dadon out as well.

“He offered them money, said he had children, and begged,” she recounted.

Chayat said that at that moment she realized she needed to remain emotionally strong and avoid showing fear.

She then described how the terrorists noticed a scar on her right arm — a scar left from a childhood burn injury. Months later, she said, she was told that the terrorists viewed such scars as carrying spiritual significance and saw them as a sign of strength.

“I used to hate this scar,” she said. “Today I love it.”

According to Chayat, the leader of the terrorist cell gave her his coat and informed both her and Dadon that they would be taken to Gaza.

The pair were marched for more than two hours until Dadon finally refused to continue. Chayat said she was then forced to watch the terrorists murder him before her eyes.

“They killed him there, Avi, my angel,” she said.

Afterward, the terrorists forced her into an abandoned vehicle, but it failed to start. The group later returned toward the festival grounds, where they attempted to break open cash registers at the main bar area.

At one point, one of the terrorists pressed a knife against her face and warned her not to flee. However, Chayat said the leader of the group quietly signaled to her that she was free to go.

She immediately began running and later hid for hours near bodies at the massacre site until Israeli military forces eventually arrived and rescued her.

“Since Nova, I am a completely different person,” she said. “There is a reason I didn’t die. I feel that now I found my purpose, to tell my story to others.”

Chayat said the scar that once caused her years of embarrassment and ridicule during childhood ultimately became the very thing that saved her life.

“It was the thing I hated most,” she said. “Now I understand that everything is for the good, even after 30 years.”

{Matzav.com}

A former Tennessee police officer who spent more than a month behind bars after posting social media content criticizing Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA following Kirk’s assassination last September has received an $835,000 settlement.

According to the New York Times, Larry Bushart reached the settlement agreement with Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems and local government officials after filing a federal lawsuit late last year.

Bushart had been arrested after sharing memes on social media that accused TPUSA of promoting hatred. Following the arrest, he remained jailed for 37 days.

“The people’s freedom to participate in civil discourse is crucial to a healthy democracy,” Bushart said in a statement. “I am looking forward to moving on and spending time with my family.”

The report described Bushart as a “Facebook warrior” who reposted numerous memes created by others in a local Facebook group. The group had been circulating information about a prayer vigil honoring Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking to students at Utah Valley University in September.

One of the memes Bushart allegedly shared featured President Trump saying, “We have to get over this,’” following a school shooting at Perry High School in Iowa.

According to the report, “The original poster” of the meme had also reportedly included the words, “this seems relevant today.”

Sheriff Weems later claimed that some residents believed Bushart’s posts amounted to threats directed toward the local high school.

As a result, the Perry County Sheriff’s Department reportedly contacted police officers in Bushart’s hometown and requested that an officer visit him regarding the posts.

According to the report, Bushart refused to delete the material when approached by law enforcement, despite the officer appearing confused by the request.

Bushart, who told the confused police officer that he would not remove his post, was arrested “later that night.”

{Matzav.com}

Kash Patel announced Wednesday that a former Department of Justice prosecutor who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Trump has been criminally charged for allegedly stealing and concealing confidential government documents.

According to Patel, former federal prosecutor Carmen Lineberger is accused of secretly sending sensitive investigative materials to her personal email accounts while disguising the files under recipe-themed names in an attempt to avoid detection.

“This afternoon, a former managing assistant U.S. Attorney who supported Jack Smith’s politicized investigation of President Trump has been charged with stealing the confidential investigation documents,” Patel said.

“Carmen Lineberger allegedly emailed the confidential material to her own personal email, disguising them as dessert recipes to conceal them from record searches. Lineberger is charged with four felony counts in the indictment.”

The charges were formally announced in a press release issued by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.

According to prosecutors, Lineberger previously served as the Managing Assistant United States Attorney for the Fort Pierce branch office within the Southern District of Florida. Federal authorities allege she unlawfully transmitted internal DOJ records and then attempted to hide the activity by altering file names.

The press release states that Lineberger was “indicted in federal court for two counts of theft of government money or property, valued less than $1,000.00; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; and concealment, removal, or mutilation of public records.”

Prosecutors claim the alleged conduct occurred during multiple incidents in late 2025 while Lineberger was still serving in her official DOJ position.

“The indictment alleges at the time of the offenses the defendant served as the Managing Assistant United States Attorney (MAUSA) of the Fort Pierce branch of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. In separate instances in late-2025, the defendant altered the electronic file names of government records that she received in her official capacity as the MAUSA in order to conceal her unauthorized electronic transmission of those records to personal email accounts belonging to her without being detected. The altered government records included a document compiled by the defendant consisting of portions of internal DOJ electronic messages and an internal DOJ memorandum, and a DOJ report related to a criminal prosecution in the SDFL that had been court-ordered to remain under seal and prohibited from distribution or disclosure outside of DOJ.

“As alleged in the indictment, the defendant concealed her actions by saving electronic copies of the government records in question under the misleading files names “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe” before electronically transmitting those records to her person email accounts. As to the DOJ report, the indictment further alleges the defendant act knowing that her transmission of the record outside DOJ directly violated the court order and impaired the proper administration of the underlying criminal prosecution.”

Patel used the announcement to sharply criticize the original Trump investigation and vowed continued accountability for officials involved.

“This FBI will not hesitate to bring to account those who violated the trust of the American public in an investigation that should’ve never been brought to begin with,” Patel added in his post.

CNN separately reported that Lineberger is also facing “two felony charges related to her handling of Volume II of Smith’s final report, which detailed Smith’s findings that Trump and two co-defendants who worked for him in 2021 mishandled national security documents.”

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Brad Lander, a Democratic candidate in New York’s 10th Congressional District race, is facing criticism following remarks he delivered at a Queens mosque in which he condemned Israel’s war in Gaza and expressed solidarity with prominent anti-Israel progressive lawmakers in Congress.

During a May 15 appearance at the Al-Khoei Islamic Center in Queens, Lander recited a verse from the Quran in Arabic before addressing congregants on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Introducing himself as “a proud Jewish New Yorker,” Lander told attendees that what he described as “Israel’s genocide in Gaza” contradicts the Jewish teaching that all human beings are created in the image of God.

Lander also said that if elected to Congress, he hopes to build the same type of political partnership he currently shares with New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani alongside Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, two of the most outspoken critics of Israel in Congress.

Following the candidate’s speech, the imam led the congregation in a supplication invoking the coming of the Mahdi and asking that victory and relief come to believers through the defeat and killing of infidels “by his sword.”

Lander, who currently serves as New York City comptroller, has positioned himself as a progressive Democrat aligned with the party’s left wing on a range of domestic and foreign policy issues.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Senior officials in Israel’s Foreign Ministry are expressing outrage after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir circulated footage appearing to humiliate pro-Gaza flotilla activists, a move diplomats now say caused major international damage to Israel’s standing abroad.

According to a report aired late Wednesday night on Israel’s Channel 12, the Foreign Ministry distributed an urgent message to Israeli embassies and diplomatic missions worldwide describing Ben Gvir’s actions as a “global strategic terror attack.”

The internal communication reportedly instructed Israeli diplomats to circulate alternative images and official footage showing what the ministry described as Israel’s humane and respectful treatment of the activists aboard the flotilla.

Embassy staff were also told to emphasize Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s public distancing from Ben Gvir’s conduct in conversations with officials in the countries where they serve.

One Israel official, speaking anonymously, called Ben Gvir an “outright rodef.”

Diplomatic officials quoted in the Channel 12 report delivered especially blistering criticism of Ben Gvir, accusing him of undermining extensive diplomatic efforts carried out behind the scenes with allied nations.

“Ben Gvir effectively joined the flotilla activists. He is the captain of the ship — second only to Greta,” one senior source said, apparently referring to climate activist Greta Thunberg.

“The damage he caused is immeasurable. Today he destroyed intensive work conducted with our allies around the world. He handed real weapons to the worst of our enemies. The disgrace cannot be described,” the source added.

The controversy erupted after Ben Gvir publicized footage documenting the treatment of activists aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla, triggering international criticism and diplomatic discomfort.

Prime Minister Netanyahu later attempted to distance the government from Ben Gvir’s conduct while reaffirming Israel’s right to block flotillas attempting to reach Gaza.

“Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terror supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza. However, the way Minister Ben Gvir behaved toward the flotilla activists does not align with the values and norms of the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

{Matzav.com}

The White House issued a forceful response Wednesday after commentator Tucker Carlson accused Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu of drawing the United States into a damaging war with Iran during an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 News.

Responding to Carlson’s remarks, the White House defended President Trump’s longstanding position on Iran and praised the military operations carried out alongside Israel.

“Long before he was elected, President Trump has been consistent in his belief that Iran can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon. Israel has always been a great ally to the United States, especially through Operations Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury that obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities and destroyed their defense industrial base,” the White House said in a statement to Channel 13 News.

“President Trump took bold, decisive action to protect the American people – something presidents have talked about for 47 years, but only this President has had the courage to address,” the statement added.

Carlson’s comments came during an interview aired Tuesday, in which he sharply criticized Netanyahu’s leadership and accused him of steering Israel in a dangerous direction.

According to Carlson, Netanyahu is “leading Israel toward destruction” and is “a very bad leader and a very unwise leader”, though he also said that he believes Netanyahu “is acting in what he thinks is his nation’s best interest. So I give him credit for that and always have.”

Carlson further argued that the conflict with Iran has harmed the United States’ standing and interests because of its close alliance with Israel.

“because of this war…America’s relationship with Israel, while it may be based on good intentions, is hurting the United States very badly,” Carlson claimed, while also calling for Washington to completely end aid to Israel.

“I don’t think the United States owes Israel anything. I don’t think the United States should give Israel anything. I think we should stop all aid to Israel, all special deals for Israel.”

Discussing the American role in the fighting against Iran, Carlson criticized President Trump’s decision-making and argued that Netanyahu pressured him into entering the conflict.

Trump “turned out to be far weaker than I understood” and had been pushed by Netanyahu “into a war that hurts the United States.”

Carlson was previously viewed as an ally of President Trump, but in recent years has emerged as one of his sharpest critics, particularly regarding foreign policy and support for Israel.

Earlier this year, Carlson also drew attention after claiming he had been detained upon arriving at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.

However, video footage later circulated on social media appeared to contradict Carlson’s account. The footage showed him calmly signing paperwork, smiling, hugging a security guard, posing for a photograph, and then departing the airport without incident.

{Matzav.com}