Politics
GOP’s Gowdy Rejects Trump’s ‘Spy’ Claim, Defends FBI Probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — There is no evidence that the FBI planted a “spy” on President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, a senior House Republican said Wednesday, contradicting Trump’s repeated insistence that the agency inserted a “spy for political reasons and to help Crooked Hillary win.”
Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Oversight Committee and a longtime Trump supporter, was briefed last week by the Justice Department and FBI following reports that investigators relied on a U.S. government informant in their probe of Russian election meddling.
“I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do when they got the information they got and that it has nothing to do with Donald Trump,” Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, told Fox News on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Gowdy said he had “never heard the term ‘spy’ used” and did not see evidence of it.
“Informants are used all day, every day by law enforcement,” he told “CBS This Morning.”
Asked about Gowdy’s comments, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president “still has concerns about whether or not the FBI acted inappropriately having people in his campaign.”
Sanders declined to say who in the campaign the president might suspect of providing information to the FBI. She said Trump also has concerns in general about the conduct of the FBI, citing the firing of former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
“There are a number of things that have been reported on and that show, I think not just for the president, but for a number of Americans a large cause for concern, and we’d like to see this fully looked into,” Sanders said.
Gowdy’s comments that undermine the president’s claims are particularly striking because of his role as a powerful GOP watchdog who took on Democrat Hillary Clinton in his committee’s investigation into the 2012 attack on an American mission in Benghazi, Libya, while she was secretary of state. The probe unearthed the existence of Clinton’s private email server, which triggered an FBI inquiry and crippled her 2016 presidential campaign against Trump.
Trump has repeatedly pointed to, and at times embellished, reports that a longtime U.S. government informant approached members of his 2016 campaign during the presidential election in a possible bid to glean intelligence on Russian efforts to sway the election.
He has tweeted that it was “starting to look like one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history.” He has also rejected conclusions by America’s intelligence agencies that the Russian government was trying to help him beat Clinton.
Several news outlets including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and NBC News have identified an FBI confidential source as Stefan A. Halper.
Halper, an academic at the University of Cambridge who served in past Republican administrations, was not a part of Trump’s campaign, but the news outlets have reported that he reached out to some Trump advisers to gather information as part of the Russia investigation.
Trump’s legal team has expressed interest in seeing classified information about the origins of the FBI investigation to prepare the president for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, who is now leading the federal investigation into possible ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
“The folks who have seen the information have the same perspective,” Gowdy said. “The folks who have not seen the information, I don’t know what informs their perspective.”
Gowdy, who plans to retire from Congress at the end of the current term, did express support for Trump’s “frustration” with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself in May 2017 from the Russia probe based on a possible conflict of interest. The recusal of Sessions, an early backer of Trump’s presidential bid, followed the revelation that he had two previously undisclosed interactions during the 2016 campaign with the Russian ambassador.
Gowdy told CBS that Trump is just “expressing frustration that Attorney General Sessions should have shared these reasons for recusal before he took the job. Not afterward.”
Trump tweeted out Gowdy’s comments on Sessions, including his saying that “there are lots of really good lawyers in the country” and that the president “could have picked someone else” for the top Justice Department job.
“And I wish I did!” Trump wrote.
Trump did not reference Gowdy’s comments that there was no evidence of the FBI planting a spy in his campaign.
Florida
DeSantis’ New Florida Congressional Map Could Spark Lawsuits, Legislative Showdown, and Statewide Protests
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FNN) — Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled a proposed congressional redistricting map that could significantly reshape Florida’s representation in the U.S. House ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The proposal, released Monday, outlines districts that could favor Republicans in 24 seats, compared to four Democratic-leaning districts. Currently, Florida’s congressional delegation includes 20 Republicans and seven Democrats, with one vacant seat.
REDISTRICTING PROPOSAL & POLITICAL IMPACT
The governor said the new map reflects Florida’s population changes and fulfills his commitment to mid-decade redistricting. Lawmakers have been called into a special legislative session to consider the proposal.
The map appears to eliminate four Democratic-held seats, including a Tampa-area district represented by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, an Osceola County district held by U.S. Rep. Darren Soto—the first Puerto Rican elected to Congress from Florida—and a Palm Beach-Broward district that could displace U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz.
The proposal also affects a majority-Black voting district spanning Palm Beach and Broward counties, previously represented by former U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, raising concerns about the future of minority representation.
Supporters, including Evan Power, say the map could better align districts with voter distribution. Critics, including Nikki Fried, have called the proposal unconstitutional gerrymandering. Florida law prohibits partisan gerrymandering, setting up potential legal challenges.
Rep. Tray McCurdy, D-Orlando and Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville sit on the Florida Seal in protest as debate stops on Senate Bill 2-C: Establishing the Congressional Districts of the State in the House of Representatives Thursday, April 21, 2022 at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. Rep. Daisy Morales, D-Orlando, joins the protest, holding a sign. The session was halted on the protest. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)
LOOKING BACK: 2022 PROTESTS OVER REDISTRICTING
The current debate mirrors tensions from 2022, when Democratic lawmakers staged a sit-in protest on the Florida House floor in opposition to a previous congressional map backed by DeSantis.
Lawmakers including Yvonne Hinson, Angie Nixon, Travaris McCurdy, Felicia Robinson, and Daisy Morales participated in the protest, temporarily halting legislative proceedings.
Morales, a member of the Congressional Redistricting Subcommittee and the only Hispanic lawmaker involved in the sit-in, strongly criticized the map at the time.
“Our democracy is being attacked. The governor eliminating two Black congressional seats is a power grab and it’s wrong,” Morales said in a written statement. “Stripping seats from Black representation is the same as saying the Black voice—the Black vote—doesn’t matter.”
She also warned about potential impacts on Hispanic representation:
“With this map passing, I’m deeply concerned it could target the only Puerto Rican representing Florida in Congress, Darren Soto, to benefit partisan interests. We don’t want to disenfranchise the 1.2 million Puerto Ricans in Florida.”
WHAT COMES NEXT IN 2026
As lawmakers prepare to debate the new proposal, Democrats are expected to push back through legal challenges, legislative opposition, and public advocacy.
The outcome of Florida’s redistricting battle could play a pivotal role in shaping control of the U.S. House and influence the national political landscape heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
Politics
Gov. Ron DeSantis Orders Flags at Half-Staff for Slain Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy M. Metayer Bowen
Crimes and Courts
Florida Creates Public Assistance Fraud Task Force, Appoints Special Prosecutor to Crack Down on Fraud
