Senior officials at the FBI, acting under the leadership of Director Kash Patel, instructed agents to shut down a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer, after concluding that the inquiry could conflict with public remarks made by President Donald Trump and other top administration figures, according to several people familiar with the decision.
The New York Times reported Saturday that federal prosecutors in Minnesota initially handled the case as they would any other fatal shooting by a federal agent, moving swiftly to open a standard civil rights use-of-force investigation.
As part of that early effort, Joseph H. Thompson, a senior federal prosecutor, sought a search warrant to examine Good’s SUV for forensic material, including bullet paths and blood evidence, and arranged for the FBI to coordinate its work with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
That plan was stopped just as agents were preparing to carry out the court-approved search.
According to sources cited by the Times, the order to halt the investigation came from senior leadership, including Patel, out of concern that pursuing a civil rights theory — and relying on a warrant obtained on that basis — could clash with Trump’s assertion that Good had “violently, willfully, and viciously” struck the ICE agent with her vehicle.
Rather than continue down that path, Justice Department leaders pressed prosecutors to consider other investigative angles, such as applying for a new warrant based on the claim that Good’s vehicle was used as a weapon against the officer, or redirecting attention toward a potential investigation of Good’s partner.
Career prosecutors pushed back, according to the report, arguing that the proposed shift rested on shaky legal grounds and risked inflaming political tensions in Minnesota, a state already unsettled by confrontations involving federal immigration enforcement.
The disagreement set off a cascade of resignations within the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota.
Thompson and five colleagues stepped down in protest, and further departures followed, leaving the office severely weakened and struggling to pursue major prosecutions involving fraud, drug trafficking, terrorism, and violent crime.
The turmoil has unfolded as Minnesota has emerged as a focal point in the administration’s intensified immigration enforcement campaign, with several fatal encounters involving federal officers sparking public outrage and deepening political strains.
Although the White House has sought to present an image of stability and restraint, critics argue that stepped-up enforcement is occurring alongside growing pressure on investigators to shape their work around official statements, heightening the risk of further unrest.
The Times also reported that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly described Good as a “domestic terrorist,” language later repeated by Vice President JD Vance, even as prosecutors were reviewing video footage and anticipating a routine, independent assessment of whether the shooting was legally justified.
Local law enforcement leaders have warned that the fallout could damage long-standing working relationships between federal agencies and local police departments.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told the Times that the resignations and the perception of political influence over prosecutions threaten to derail progress against serious criminal activity.
Both the Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment to the Times, and it remains unknown whether prosecutors ultimately secured a new warrant to search Good’s vehicle.
{Matzav.com}
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a sharp response to accusations that she concealed a classified whistleblower complaint, rejecting the claim outright and placing the blame on Sen. Mark Warner and what she described as allied media outlets for promoting false allegations.
In a public post, Gabbard said the charge that she personally hid a complaint was fabricated. “Senator Mark Warner and his friends in the Propaganda Media have repeatedly lied to the American people that I or the ODNI ‘hid’ a whistleblower complaint in a safe for eight months,” she wrote.
She followed with an unequivocal denial, stating, “This is a blatant lie.”
Gabbard emphasized that she never had custody of the complaint and therefore could not have concealed it. “I am not now, nor have I ever been, in possession or control of the Whistleblower’s complaint, so I obviously could not have ‘hidden’ it in a safe,” she wrote, adding that “Biden-era IC Inspector General Tamara Johnson was in possession of and responsible for securing the complaint for months.”
According to Gabbard, her first exposure to the document occurred only recently and was limited in scope. “The first time I saw the whistleblower complaint was 2 weeks ago when I had to review it to provide guidance on how it should be securely shared with Congress,” she wrote.
Her remarks came after The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week on a top secret complaint submitted by an anonymous government insider, alleging that Gabbard had withheld classified material for political reasons and delayed transmitting the complaint to Congress.
Gabbard countered that the handling of the document was appropriate given its contents, arguing that the level of classification required strict security measures. “As Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Warner knows very well that whistleblower complaints that contain highly classified and compartmented intelligence, even if they contain baseless allegations like this one, must be secured in a safe,” she wrote.
She added that the security protocols did not change after congressional leaders were briefed. “After IC Inspector General Fox hand-delivered the complaint to the Gang of 8, the complaint was returned to a safe where it remains, consistent with any information of such sensitivity,” she said.
Gabbard went on to question Warner’s understanding of intelligence procedures, suggesting either deliberate dishonesty or incompetence. “Either Senator Warner knows these facts and is intentionally lying to the American people, or he doesn’t have a clue how these things work and is therefore not qualified to be in the U.S. Senate, and certainly not the Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee,” she wrote.
Laying out a detailed chronology, Gabbard said she was first informed in June 2025 that a whistleblower complaint had been filed against her. She stated that after review, “neither Biden-era IC Inspector General Tamara Johnson nor current IC Inspector General Chris Fox found the complaint to be credible.”
She further explained that the document was stored securely because of the way it was drafted, saying it was locked away since “the complainant chose to include highly sensitive information within the complaint itself,” instead of citing intelligence at a lower classification level.
Addressing claims that she violated statutory deadlines, Gabbard argued that the legal requirements were misrepresented. “When a complaint is not found to be credible, there is no timeline under the law for the provision of security guidance,” she wrote, noting that the “21 day” rule applies only when a complaint is deemed “both urgent AND apparently credible.”
She stressed that those conditions were not met, adding, “That was NOT the case here.”
Gabbard said she received notice from Inspector General Chris Fox on Dec. 4, 2025, that security guidance was required and said she responded without delay. “I took immediate action to provide the security guidance,” she wrote, explaining that the inspector general then transmitted the complaint to Congress last week.
She closed her statement by accusing Warner of politicizing the issue, writing, “Senator Warner’s decision to spread lies and baseless accusations over the months for political gain, undermines our national security and is a disservice to the American people and the Intelligence Community.”
{Matzav.com}
As Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu prepares to meet with President Donald Trump later this week, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voiced strong confidence in Netanyahu’s handling of the Iran file and sharply criticized American thinking on Gaza.
Speaking in an interview this morning with Kan Reshet Bet, Ben Gvir said Netanyahu has demonstrated skill and clarity in his dealings with Washington on Iran. “The prime minister is doing an excellent job on the Iran issue. I think his demands are very clear. He has proven that he knows how to talk to Trump. This time too, he will bring achievements,” Ben Gvir said.
Turning to the situation in Gaza, Ben Gvir took aim at U.S. officials advising Trump, accusing them of misunderstanding realities on the ground. “The Americans are very naive, especially Kushner and Witkoff. They are feeding Trump incorrect ideas. I am not prepared for the fact that there will be tens of thousands of armed men in Gaza with pickup trucks walking around with crutches,” he said.
{Matzav.com}Iran’s foreign minister said that Tehran expects negotiations with the United States to restart in the near future, while making clear that certain issues remain off-limits and warning that any American strike on Iranian soil would trigger a military response.
In remarks shared from an interview with Al Jazeera and posted to his official Telegram channel, Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s missile program was “never negotiable” during the most recent round of discussions held Friday in Oman. He emphasized that the program is a “defense issue” and therefore not subject to talks.
Araghchi also cautioned that if the United States were to attack Iran, Tehran would respond by striking American military bases in the region. At the same time, he characterized the Muscat talks as a constructive opening, even though they were conducted indirectly.
“An opportunity arose to shake hands with the American delegation,” he said, describing the meeting as “a good start,” while noting that rebuilding trust would require time. He added that negotiations would resume “soon.”
President Donald Trump said Friday that the discussions had gone “very good” and said another round of talks was planned for next week. Despite those comments, Trump also signed an executive order taking effect Saturday that calls for the “imposition of tariffs” on countries that continue commercial ties with Iran.
In parallel, Washington announced additional sanctions aimed at Iran’s oil trade, targeting a wide network of shipping companies and vessels involved in transporting Iranian crude.
Addressing the nuclear issue, Araghchi told Al Jazeera that uranium enrichment remains Iran’s “inalienable right and must continue.”
“We are ready to reach a reassuring agreement on enrichment,” he said. “The Iranian nuclear case will only be resolved through negotiations.”
His statements echoed reporting by The Wall Street Journal following the Oman talks, which said Iran rejected U.S. demands to stop uranium enrichment, though both sides agreed to keep negotiating in an effort to avoid further escalation.
Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance said that Trump would “keep his options open” regarding Iran and could turn to military action if diplomatic efforts fail.
In an interview with Megyn Kelly, Vance underscored the administration’s position, saying, “Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. That is the stated policy goal of the president of the United States. It’s so funny. Sometimes you have people who are saying, ‘Well, the president’s too belligerent.’ And then sometimes you have people who say, ‘Well, the president, he’s talking about diplomacy and he’s talking about negotiating with the Iranians. We shouldn’t negotiate. We should just bomb them.’”
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A yungerman who was handed over to the military police last night is expected to appear Sunday before a military judge, who will decide his sentence and determine how many additional days he will remain behind bars in a military prison.
The arrest has sparked preparations for renewed protests by the Peleg Yerushalmi faction, as tensions continue to rise.
The detainee, Reb Avraham Ben Dayan, a talmid of the Maor HaTalmud yeshiva who was married only about two months ago, is scheduled to be brought before the military court today. The judge will rule on the length of his continued incarceration following his transfer to military custody.
According to the report, Ben Dayan had been spending Shabbos in the southern city of Ofakim when he was stopped by a traffic officer in the community of Yifrach on suspicion of a traffic violation. During the stop, the officer discovered that Ben Dayan had not reported to the enlistment office and was therefore classified as a deserter. He was taken to a police station and later transferred to the military police.
In response to the arrest, activists affiliated with the Peleg Yerushalmi said they are preparing to resume protests across the country, describing the detention as an attack on Torah study. “Ben Dayan was arrested for the crime of studying Torah, and we will take to the streets throughout the country. We will not remain silent while Torah scholars are arrested,” a source in the faction said.
Following the arrest, hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the Ofakim police station, blocking the entrance to the facility as well as Route 241 at the city’s entrance. Police were called in to disperse the crowd and restore order.
During the disturbances, police arrested three protesters and used crowd-control measures, including stun grenades, authorities said.
In a statement issued overnight, police said: “Officers from the Southern District operated at the entrance to the city of Ofakim on Route 241 to restore public order, after disorderly individuals arrived at the scene, blocked traffic routes, acted violently, and disrupted normal life in the area. Police forces arrested three individuals involved in the disturbances.
“The Israel Police emphasize that violent riots by lawbreakers and the blocking of traffic routes are criminal offenses, endanger human life, and could end in a serious disaster.”
As Ben Dayan awaits the military court’s decision, further demonstrations are expected, with the situation likely to remain volatile in the coming days.
{Matzav.com}
