President Donald Trump used a to elevate his yearslong push to raise doubts about the legitimacy of U.S. elections and dispute his 2020 loss 鈥� this time, to justify his push to .
His allegations Thursday night of interference and influence didn鈥檛 include key context. Nor did he produce evidence that votes had been manipulated or that the election outcome had been altered.
Trump also said he was releasing previously classified documents related to the 2020 and 2018 elections. Thus far, no credible intelligence 鈥� including repeated and , 鈥� has shown the vote count in 2020 was fraudulent or manipulated by foreign actors. Trump did not question his election wins in 2016 or 2024.
Here’s the latest:
ICE has seen a surge in new hires
In January, Homeland Security said it had hired 12,000 new officers and agents since the hiring surge began and said thousands of those new officers were already out on the streets assisting with investigations. The number includes both deportation officers and agents for Homeland Security Investigations, a separate agency that falls under ICE.
ICE has said the majority of new hires are police and military veterans. But applicants with questionable histories were either not fully vetted before they were brought on or were hired in spite of their past, earlier this year found.
Maine shooting and officer鈥檚 background raise new questions about ICE鈥檚 rapid hiring
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has workforce, hiring thousands of new officers as part of the Trump administration鈥檚 attempt to ramp up immigration arrests and deportations.
The supersizing of ICE 鈥� fueled by an infusion of billions of dollars granted by Congress 鈥� has raised concerns about the agency鈥檚 hiring practices and whether officers being brought on are receiving proper vetting. Those concerns have been rejected by the Department of Homeland Security.
Relatives of the ICE officer this week told The Associated Press he struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood and never should have been given a badge and gun to patrol American streets.
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Lawmakers demand answers after 鈥榖ombshell鈥� report of ICE officer shooting in Maine
Democratic members of Congress demanded answers about vetting and training of immigration enforcement agents after it was disclosed Thursday that the this week in Maine had a history of mental health issues and violent behavior.
The Associated Press , the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Colombian man in Maine, is an Army veteran who鈥檚 struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, according to several of his close relatives.
The AP reached out to congressional leaders and several key lawmakers of both parties for response.
The top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, said Brouillette鈥檚 history of violence and mental health issues, as well as the death in Maine, 鈥渄irectly call into question the supposed vetting and training ICE does of its recruits.鈥�
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To air or not to air? Nation鈥檚 TV networks struggle to find the right balance for Trump speech
As threatened sanctions for those who didn鈥檛 cover his address live Thursday night, the nation鈥檚 broadcast and cable news operations wrestled with the thorniest of questions: To air or not to air?
Networks and their news operations, broadcast and cable alike, spent the hours leading up to Trump鈥檚 address debating how to cover it 鈥� and struggling to balance delivering the news with handing over their airwaves to potential falsehoods about the 2020 elections.
In the end, a patchwork quilt of coverage was largely united by one common strategy: real-time fact-checking as much as was possible even while the president was still speaking.
The dilemma took place against between the media and a president working to exert control over it by whatever means he can. Even in his speech itself, Trump excoriated networks that chose not to carry it live.
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Rubio set for Asia trip
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to the Philippines next week to attend meetings with foreign ministers at a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.
The State Department says Rubio is going to meet with his counterparts and senior officials from governments in the region as he pushes for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Rubio is scheduled to leave for Manila on Sunday and head back to the U.S. on Thursday.
China rejects Trump鈥檚 election interference claim as 鈥榞roundless accusations鈥�
China on Friday said it has never interfered in U.S. elections and has no interest in doing so, urging Washington to stop making what it described as 鈥済roundless accusations鈥� after President Trump accused Beijing of meddling in the 2020 election.
In an Thursday, Trump again raised doubts about the U.S. elections results in 2020 and accused China of interfering in them.
鈥淭he relevant allegations by the U.S. are entirely fabricated and aimed at vilifying China,鈥� said China鈥檚 Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian. 鈥淲e have no interest in interfering in US elections and have never done so.鈥�
In a daily briefing in Beijing, Lin called on the U.S. to stop making groundless accusations against China.
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Former intelligence official calls Trump鈥檚 address 鈥榙angerous鈥�
Sue Gordon, principal deputy director of national intelligence in Trump鈥檚 first term, called the president鈥檚 address 鈥渁 dangerous speech about an incredibly important topic.鈥� She said the intelligence community throughout Trump鈥檚 first term was alarmed about foreign interference in elections, but Trump scoffed at them, angered at the investigation of his campaign鈥檚 relationship with Russia.
鈥淗e had an entire term to deal with it and I don鈥檛 know how you can believe how the same community that told him about it, that was excoriated about it鈥� wouldn鈥檛 warn him in 2020, Gordon said on CNN.
Conservative commentator John Solomon, who joined the White House staff last month and was seated in the East Room for Trump鈥檚 speech, later told MS NOW 鈥渢he intelligence community has zero evidence that someone has flipped 鈥� that a foreign power flipped 鈥� a vote in 2020, 鈥�22 or 鈥�24.鈥�
But, he added, 鈥淲e鈥檙e not through all the documents.鈥�
Trump doesn鈥檛 raise doubts about his election wins
President Donald Trump began Thursday night with a stark warning about what he described as flaws in the voting system and said he was releasing previously classified documents related to the 2020 and 2018 elections, when he lost the presidential election and when his party suffered losses.
Trump鈥檚 speech presented allegations of interference and influence in ways that lacked key context and did not produce evidence that votes had been manipulated or that the election outcome had been altered.
Notably, he focused on China but glossed over Russia, a country intelligence officials have said favored Trump in 2016 and 2020 and engaged in wide-ranging influence campaigns aimed at boosting him over Democrat Joe Biden in the latter campaign.
Trump鈥檚 Thursday night address hinged on contradictions
A twice-elected president complained about his one personal defeat, alleged a cover-up by officials in his own first administration and surfaced claims about countries attempting to harm his own prospects while staying silent on steps taken by other nations to boost him.
Trump used the remarks to justify his push to in Congress that hasn鈥檛 advanced because it lacks enough support from his fellow Republicans.
鈥淎merica is back and doing really well, but we still have a major challenge that must be urgently addressed, because no country can be great without fair and honest elections,鈥� he said.
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