Bill Gates & Pam Bondi To Testify; House Committee: Walz Knew; Iran Kurds Rise To Over Throw Iran Regime: AP

Hello all you freedom loving people. Congress called in Bill Gates to testify in their investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, and another committee says that Governor Tim Walz knew about the widespread fraud beforehand. And as Operation Epic Fury enters day five, some people are wondering if China is next. Okay, let's get into it. Today, the House Oversight Committee concluded in a report that senior Minnesota officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, knew for years about major fraud and welfare programs that were funded by the federal government. And the report says that they did not take real action to stop it. And some whistleblowers who spoke up were instead punished. Governor Walz previously acknowledged that there is fraud in his state, and he said that his administration has made it a priority to root it out for years. But the Oversight Committee believes that the evidence shows the opposite. The evidence comes from testimony that was collected by the committee from nine current and former Minnesota state officials. These officials were responsible for overseeing benefits programs within the Minnesota Department of Education and the Department of Human Resources. One official from the Minnesota Department of Education told the committee that complaints about the program were already received back in 2018. Assistant Commissioner Darren Corte testified that concerns were raised between 2018 and 2021. Corte said that Governor Walz's office and Attorney General Ellison's office were both likely informed by April of 2020. Then, in March of 2021, the Minnesota Department of Education found that the Feeding Our Future program had serious problems, and they tried to stop the funding. But the payments started again by the end of April because officials feared that the organization would file a lawsuit. Corte testified, we could unilaterally make that decision, but we just knew with Feeding Our Future, it was going to end up in court, and it had the potential to be overturned. So, because of the threat of the lawsuit, the Minnesota Department of Education approved an additional four sites to be administered by Feeding Our Future, even after fraud concerns had been raised by the agency. Corte said that the agency did this because the Department of Agriculture refused to provide a justification under federal law for the state to cut off the funds. Corte testified that officials generally supported the effort to stop the payments, but they were not willing to put that support in writing. Because of that, he said that the agency felt like it did not have strong enough backing to keep blocking funding while facing the threat of a lawsuit. Another official also testified that Walz's office knew about the fraud concerns with the Child Care Assistance Program in Minnesota. The former DHS Commissioner Tony Lowry told congressional investigators that he was in communication with then Chief of Staff Chris Schmitter about such concerns that year. Also, one investigator who was cited in the report said that fraud may have involved more than half of the government funding for the program. Auditors also found that some child care centers recruited mothers by offering them kickbacks using government money. They also saw signs of overbilling in 72 of the 100 top groups that were receiving state funds. Then today, both Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison testified before the committee. And the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has asked seven individuals to testify before the committee regarding its ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Among the seven people, Bill Gates is one of the most famous and most eye-catching. Others include Leslie Groff, a former longtime executive assistant to Epstein, Catherine Rumler, the former White House Counsel to President Obama, Leon Black, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management, Sarah Kellen, a former Epstein employee, Doug Band, a longtime personal aid and counselor to President Clinton, and tech billionaire Ted Wheat, a former boyfriend of Epstein's associate, Glenn Maxwell. The seven were given testimony dates ranging from April 16th to June 9th. A spokesperson for Bill Clinton confirmed that he plans to testify before the committee. His statement reads, Gates welcomes the opportunity to appear before the committee. While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein's illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee's questions to support their important work. Also last week, Gates apologized to the staff at the Gates Foundation for his ties to Epstein. His friendship with Epstein began in 2011 and it continued through at least 2014. Gates told the staff that he and Epstein shared a private jet together once and they spent time in Germany, France, New York, and Washington. There were allegations that Bill Gates had extramarital sex with Russian girls that resulted in a sexually transmitted infection requiring antibiotic treatment. A spokesperson for Bill Gates told CBS News in January that the claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. But at last week's town hall, Bill Gates admitted that he did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who he met at bridge events and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who he met through business activities. Catherine Rumler is another person who is being called to give testimony. Rumler served as White House counsel under Obama from 2011 to 2014 before she joined Goldman Sachs in 2020. Based on the newly released Epstein files, she helped arrange, on the request of Epstein, filmmaker Woody Allen and his wife a tour of the White House in December of 2015. In an email exchange, she wrote that she adored Epstein and she called him Uncle Jeffrey. In response to the newly released Epstein files last month, she resigned as the top lawyer for Goldman Sachs. Another person who is being called to testify is Leon Black. According to the newly released Epstein files, Black received advice from Epstein on how to keep a six-year affair with a Russian woman from going public. In September of 2015, Epstein suggested that Black should hire former law enforcement officers to approach the woman about signing a non-disclosure agreement. One month later, the woman signed a non-disclosure agreement with Black in which he agreed to pay her $100,000 monthly for 15 years. He also agreed to forgive a $1 million loan and provide £2 million for her to obtain legal status in the UK. Even as people were shunning the name Epstein, some came forward to offer testimony. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was once a Manhattan neighbor of Epstein, voluntarily agreed to an interview with the House Oversight Committee over his past ties to the convicted sex offender. Lutnick told Axios, I look forward to appearing before the committee. I have done nothing wrong and I want to set the record straight. Then later today, the House Oversight Committee also voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify in the Epstein files investigation. Meanwhile, today, police boats from the Virgin Islands Police Department were spotted approaching Little St. James Island. The video shows that those boats were cruising toward the island with their lights on and another law enforcement vessel appears to have already been docked at the scene. Chief Deborah Hodge confirmed that this was an active investigation that is unrelated to Epstein, but she did not disclose its nature. Little St. James Island was sold in 2022 for resort plans that are currently stalled. Operation Epic Fury has now entered its fifth day with continued strikes. Today, the Israeli Defense Forces announced that their F-35 fighter jet shot down an Iranian aircraft over Tehran this morning, according to Israel. During the latest round of attacks, they destroyed a Yak-130 aircraft that belonged to the Iranian government. Israeli officials say that this is the first time in their aviation history that an F-35 has shot down a Yak-130 in combat. They also said that they finished a large operation against a major military complex in Iran. According to Israel, that complex brought together many parts of the security system for the Iranian government. These parts included the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard, intelligence units, the besieged forces, and the Qud forces. The operation also targeted special police units, cyber command centers, and units that were responsible for supporting security forces and controlling protests. But the operation is still unfolding, with military officials saying that the next phase of the operation will push deeper into Iran. Today, during a press conference, War Secretary Pete Hegsath said that the operation produced historic results in just four days. He said that the operation is already weakening Iran's military and it is pushing the operation toward a clear outcome. Also, according to Hegsath, more American forces are arriving and the operation is still expanding. Hegsath also said that the United States and Israel expect to gain full control of Iran's airspace within days. Starting last night and to be completed in a few days, in under a week, the two most powerful air forces in the world will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace. I hope all the folks watching understand what uncontested airspace and complete control means. It means we will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing, and finishing the missiles and defense industrial base of the Iranian military, finding and fixing their leaders and their military leaders. Flying over Tehran, flying over Iran, flying over their capital, flying over the IRGC, Iranian leaders looking up and seeing only U.S. and Israeli air power every minute of every day until we decide it's over. And Iran will be able to do nothing about it. B-2s, B-52s, B-1s, predator drones, fighters controlling the skies, picking targets, death and destruction from the sky all day long. Hegsath also said that the strikes killed the head of the Iranian government's unit that plotted to assassinate President Trump. Also, yesterday, the leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed. Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh. We've known for a long time that Iran had intentions on trying to kill President Trump and or other U.S. officials. And while that was not the focus of the effort by any stretch of imagination, in fact, never raised by the president or anybody else, I ensured and others ensured that those who were responsible for that were eventually part of the target list. It wasn't the beginning of the effort. We were focused on missiles and launchers, and that's the focus. But ultimately, if we had the opportunity to get at those who were trying to get at Americans specifically, we would. And so we eventually had the opportunity to do that from the air. Hegsath also answered a question regarding whether there are any fully autonomous weapons or other A.I. tools being used in the operation. We've got a lot of autonomous systems or systems that are that drones and others incorporated with smart A.I. aspects to them, but a lot of which I can't talk about here. Yesterday, there was news that the CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces in Iraq's Kurdistan region with the goal of creating an uprising inside Iran. Yet today, Hegsath said that the U.S. military is not arming an insurgency inside Iran, but he suggested that other parts of the U.S. government could potentially be involved. All I would say is none of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force. So what other entities may be doing, we're aware of, but our objectives aren't centered on that. Today at the White House, Press Secretary Caroline Lovett also denied reports that the Trump administration has agreed to arm Kurdish forces. I can comment on the fact that the president has held many calls with partners, allies and leaders in the region, in the Middle East. He did speak to Kurdish leaders with respect to our base that we have in northern Iraq. But as for any report suggesting that the president has agreed to any such plan is completely false and should not be written. Lovett also said that after President Trump's threat to ban all trade with Spain, the Spanish government is now cooperating with the U.S. military. So because Spain is a member of the EU, does that at all put a wrinkle in the president's plan for a trade embargo with them? With respect to Spain, I think they heard the president's message yesterday loud and clear. And it's my understanding over the past several hours, they've agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military. And so I know that the U.S. military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain, but the president expects all of our European allies, of course, to cooperate in this long sought after mission, not just for the United States, but also for Europe to crush the rogue Iranian regime that, again, not only threatens America, but also threatens our European allies as well. Then today, President Trump participated in a roundtable talking with reporters. President Trump was asked how well the United States is performing against Iran. I would say somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15. And we're going to continue to do well. We have the greatest military in the world by far. And that was a tremendous threat for many years. 47 years they've been killing our people and killing people from all over the world. And I think we have great support. General Dan Cain, who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the ballistic missile launches of the Iranian government have dropped by 86 percent since the fighting began. As of this morning, U.S. Central Command is making steady progress. Iran's theater ballistic missile shots fired are down 86 percent from the first day of fighting, with a 23 percent decrease just in the last 24 hours. And their one-way attack drone shots are down 73 percent from the opening days. This progress has allowed CENTCOM to establish localized air superiority across the southern flank of the Iranian coast and penetrate their defenses with overwhelming precision and firepower. We will now begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory and creating additional freedom of maneuver for U.S. forces. Also today, the Senate rejected a resolution that would have given lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The rejection came as House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters last night that the idea that a few colleagues would try to move a war powers resolution to the floor is dangerous. There's no question about this. The Democrats never had any question about it. When Democrat presidents were using this authority, when you look at the analysis of the War Powers Act and the law that applies and the powers that are given to the commander in chief under Article 2 of the Constitution, President Trump has done exactly what he should do. He is squarely within the law. He used his discretion and his authority and the intelligence that he had, exquisite as it was, as is demonstrated by its effectiveness. And he did what he should have done as a commander in chief. The idea that a few colleagues here would try to move a war powers motion and resolution to the floor right now is dangerous. Imagine a scenario where Congress would vote to tell the commander in chief that he was no longer allowed to complete this mission. That would be a very dangerous thing. You see that Iran is firing almost seemingly indiscriminately at targets. They're trying to intimidate America. They're trying to test our resolve. And the idea that there's some members of this legislative body that would play along with that, plays right into the hands of the enemy. And I think it's shameful. I do believe we have the votes to defeat it. I certainly hope we do, because we have lots of troops, service members in harm's way right now. And the balance of this thing is hanging there. It's been very effective thus far. It needs to be completed. We don't need Congress getting in the way of that. Yes, ma'am. On the other hand, Dee, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council claimed on X that the United States should now calculate whether after more than 500 American casualties, it still considers America first or Israel first. He also said that President Trump entered the war after being pushed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And he further warned that the killing of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would bring a heavy price for Israel and the United States. These threats come as U.S. Central Command reports that Iranian attacks have so far resulted in the deaths of six American soldiers. Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of the U.S. Central Command, also reported last night that in less than 100 hours since the operation began, about 2,000 targets inside Iran have been struck. We're less than 100 hours into this operation, and we've already struck nearly 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions. We have severely degraded Iran's air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran's ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. And in simple terms, we're focused on shooting all the things that can shoot at us. Our B-2 bombers and B-1 bombers have executed uncontested surgical strikes against multiple missile facilities deep inside Iran. And then just last night, a B-52 bomber force struck ballistic missile in command and control posts. Meanwhile, the conflict is still spreading across the region. Today, the U.S. hit a ship belonging to the Iranian government in international waters in the Indian Ocean among 20 vessels that the U.S. military says it has struck so far. Meanwhile, the Iranian government is continuing to retaliate. The Iranian government fired two missiles toward Qatar. One of them struck the Al Udeid Air Base, which is the largest U.S. base in the Middle East. Qatar said that there were no casualties, and its air defenses intercepted the second missile. Turkey also reported that NATO intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile before it entered Turkish airspace. Turkish officials warned that and they said that they are coordinating with NATO allies. Today, Iraq's electricity ministry said that their entire power grid has shut down, causing a nationwide blackout. Iraqi officials are now investigating the cause and working to restore power plants and transmission lines. Some parts of Iraq have been attacked since the war began, but authorities said that it's still unclear if those attacks are connected to the blackout. Then today, evening Fox News reported that thousands of Iraqi Kurds have begun a ground offensive in Iran. Then it's big, a U.S. official telling Fox thousands of Iraqi Kurds have launched a ground offensive in Iran. But a senior official in the Kurdistan region of Iraq denied the news, and he said that no Iraqi Kurds have crossed the Iranian border. In its report, Fox News described the group as Iraqi Kurds, but the Associated Press said that they are Iranian Kurdish opposition groups that are based in northern Iraq. Previously, we reported that Israel hacked into Tehran's traffic camera several years ago in order to monitor the daily lives of senior Iranian government figures, including Ali Khamenei and his security personnel. According to the Financial Times, one camera angle proved particularly useful. It clearly captured the location where members of Khamenei's major security team parked their private vehicles near his residence. Ironically, the Iranian government originally installed these cameras to monitor their political opponents and their own citizens. Little did they know that these very devices would become their own undoing. These images were encrypted and transmitted back to Israel. Israeli intelligence employed a mathematical method analyzing billions of data points, and they used complex algorithms to map out a life pattern for Khamenei and his security personnel, including travel routes, hours of activity, and the identities of the senior figures who were usually with the Supreme Leader. An Israeli intelligence official told the Financial Times that their team knew Tehran extremely well. So he said that when you know a place as well as the streets you grew up on, you quickly notice when something is out of place. The intelligence that was gathered helped Israel and the United States determine that on that fateful morning of February 28th, Khamenei would be present in his office and who would be with him. Additionally, the CIA provided another human source to certify the exact location of where Khamenei was set to be on the day of his assassination. Also, on the day of the attack, Israel and the United States reportedly disrupted cellular service on the street where Ali Khamenei was killed, and this caused phones in the area to show busy signals preventing bodyguards from receiving warnings or coordinating a response. Also today, Axios reported that Netanyahu called President Trump last Monday to tell him that Khamenei would be meeting with high-ranking members of his team. Based on the report during the call that was held in the White House Situation Room, Netanyahu told President Trump and his advisors that the entire group could be killed in a single strike on Saturday morning because they were meeting at one location, and in response the CIA quickly confirmed the intelligence. Additionally, the CIA provided another human source to certify the exact location of where Khamenei was set to be on the day of his assassination. Ultimately, surveillance cameras on Iranian streets became a key source of targeted intelligence, and that detail quickly sparked intense discussion on Chinese social media because many people in China immediately saw a familiar pattern. For years, the Chinese Communist Party has built one of the largest surveillance systems in the world. Millions of cameras watch streets, buildings, and public places every day. Back in 2004, the CCP launched what it called the Safe Cities Project. Officials claimed that it was meant to improve safety and fight crime, but critics say that the real goal was to monitor the public and track groups that the CCP considers a threat. The CCP's true objective was to monitor Falun Gong practitioners. A few days ago, when we addressed the CCP's internet censorship, we covered in detail how the Falun Gong practitioners are dealing with the CCP's information control. Although VPN software exists, not everyone knows how to use it, particularly people in remote areas or those with lower levels of education and the elderly. To ensure these individuals also understand the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong, Falun Gong practitioners in China launched a campaign to spread the facts. They printed pamphlets detailing cases of the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners or international support of the practice in the free world, and they quietly distributed them to the public in various settings. Sometimes they delivered them to residents' doorsteps. At other times, they would hang Falun Dafa is Good banners on trees late at night when no one was around. And in 2002, Falun Gong activists hacked into a state TV station in China and broadcast a video telling the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. These actions left the CCP unable to guard against them, and they caused the CCP great headaches. Notably, in 2004, Falun Gong practitioners authored a book titled The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, which provided an in-depth and systematic analysis and critique of communism and the Communist Party, especially the Chinese Communist Party. It focused on their political and ideological views. The book notably exposed the destructive impact of communism on human society. Unsurprisingly, the CCP designated it as their most banned book. Falun Gong practitioners in China are the main group that widely disseminated the book throughout the country. To prevent its atrocities from being exposed to the public, and especially to block the Chinese people from learning about the CCP's dark history, the Chinese Communist Party launched the 3111 pilot project in 2005 to strengthen the intensity of monitoring. Like the 2004 initiative, its core objective was to establish a video surveillance system. In China, video surveillance systems are also known as the Skynet project. The first stage of the project involved installing cameras. These are categorized as either Class 1 or Class 2 surveillance nodes. Category 1 surveillance nodes primarily cover densely populated areas such as roads, squares, underground stations, and bus stations. The cameras must be high-definition and they must be subject to 24-hour real-time monitoring by the relevant public security authorities. Category 2 monitoring spots are typically located in important public spaces such as hospitals, schools, and parks. Requirements are relatively lenient, with no specific camera specifications being mandated. The budget is approximately half that of Category 1 spots, and real-time monitoring is conducted by the relevant institutions rather than by public security authorities. From 2005 to 2015, China's video surveillance market expanded 14-fold over the decade, making it the world's fastest growing market for surveillance cameras. According to data from consulting firm IHS Market, China had installed 176 million surveillance cameras by 2016. Among these, 20 million were controlled by the public security system. Since 2017, facial recognition and intelligent analysis have become standard features in video surveillance systems. The government has provided ample funding to the surveillance industry, enabling companies within the sector and their upstream and downstream partners to upgrade equipment and develop algorithms. Whether it's side profiles, obstructed views, low light, or blurred images, the CCP's technology achieved millisecond-level detection in 2017. However, these cameras are only moderately effective in combating crime. Unless a major criminal case is involved, the police rarely bother to retrieve surveillance footage. When local gangsters with influence commit offenses, it seems as if the monitoring system vanishes entirely. When victims request access to footage, they are often told that the cameras are out of order. The purpose of the CCP's surveillance system has never been to combat criminals, but rather to monitor the Chinese people. The people who are living under the Chinese communist regime are subject to constant surveillance. Public security cameras are ubiquitous on street corners and subway ceilings and in hotel lobbies and apartment buildings, recording their every move. Their mobile phones are being tracked, their purchase records monitored, and their online chats scrutinized. Algorithms that might be controversial in other countries are often hailed as achievements in China. And the Public Security Authority maintains a blacklist. Any individual deemed by the Chinese communist government as a potential troublemaker are included on this list. It's not merely those with criminal records, but also vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities, political dissidents, or Falun Gong practitioners. Their daily activities are subject to special surveillance. Should they deviate from their regular routines, the monitoring system triggers an alert to the police. The decision as to who is placed on the list rests with the authorities, and there is often no procedure for notifying those that are included. Most people are unaware that they are being monitored, and there is little external scrutiny of the effectiveness of this technology or the actions it prompts the police to take. And CCP authorities do not require a warrant to collect personal information. Indeed, the Chinese people live within a digital prism. And it is not only the Chinese, any foreigner who is traveling in China or who is either studying or working in China is similarly subjected to this extreme surveillance. This technology also reflects an inequality of power. The CCP maintains a red list of individuals whom the surveillance system is instructed to overlook. And naturally, these include the party leaders. Following the revelation about how Israel tracks communist activities, a question has emerged in Chinese online discussions. Might Xi Jinping order the dismantling of surveillance cameras nationwide upon hearing this? After all, the Chinese Communist Party's Skynet project, with its hundreds of millions of surveillance cameras, covers virtually every corner, making the risk of backlash far greater than that in Iran. And although the CCP maintains a red list, it is impossible for them to include all their bodyguard secretaries and every single person who is connected to them on this list. The minds of dictators are all cut from the same cloth and their fates are unlikely to differ much. Last week, we reported that FBI Director Cash Patel had fired a dozen agents who worked as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Trump. Cash Patel fired those agents after he found that the phone records of him and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles were subpoenaed by the Biden administration's FBI when they were still private citizens. Also, the subpoena on their phone records was filed in the Biden administration's FBI databases in a way that made it difficult for the Trump administration's FBI to access. Now, those FBI agents have been revealed to be part of a group who specialized in assessing threats from the Iranian government. Among the terminated agents was a section that was part of the FBI's Global Espionage Unit, which is known as CI12. That section covers spy operations with special forces in Cuba, Iran, and other proxy nations as well as other terror organizations, and they were working on global counterintelligence cases. Previously, this group assisted in bringing down former U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist Monica Witt, who began spying on the U.S. for Iran. Later, Witt was indicted by a grand jury in 2019, but she defected to Iran, and she still remains at large. In response to the new revelation about the firings, FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson said in a statement that they don't comment on personal matters, but he noted that the FBI runs a large counterintelligence operation across the country. He added that in 2025, the FBI saw a 35% increase in counterintelligence arrests, and they stopped several terrorism plots in December alone. Williamson also said that FBI teams remain active nationwide, and they are ready to support federal, state, and local law enforcement whenever needed. And that's a wrap for this episode. Thank you so much for your support of Front Page. Please remember to leave a comment below the video. This is really helping us to be seen all around the world. The more people who watch Front Page, the more freedom-loving people the world will have. 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