A woman whose concerns about Jeffrey Epstein were brushed off by the FBI three decades ago was vindicated Friday after the Department of Justice finally made her complaint public.

Maria Farmer’s complaint was buried in the thousands of files related to Epstein’s and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases that the DOJ published as part of its obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The document was dated Sept. 3, 1996, more than 10 years before Epstein first faced prosecution for sex crimes involving girls. In it, Farmer accused Epstein of stealing and selling photos of her young sisters. Farmer worked as an artist for Epstein and has long been outspoken about what she said was his abusive behavior.

Farmer has said the photos of her sisters cited in the 1996 complaint included nudity, and the complaint is labeled as a possible ‘child pornography’ case.

Names on the complaint were redacted, but The New York Times confirmed with Farmer that she was the one who filed it. Farmer told the outlet she felt ‘vindicated.’ 

‘I’ve waited 30 years. … I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore,’ she said.

The complaint noted that Farmer was a professional artist whose work included the images of her then 12- and 16-year-old sisters.

‘Epstein stole the photos and negatives and is believed to have sold the pictures to potential buyers,’ the complaint stated. ‘Epstein at one time requested [redacted] to take pictures of young girls at swimming pools. Epstein is now threatening [redacted] that if she tells anyone about the photos he will burn her house down.’

Farmer and her sister Annie brought separate lawsuits in 2019 alleging Epstein and Maxwell sexually assaulted them, but the suits were dropped as part of a settlement involving accepting compensation from Epstein’s estate.

Farmer also sued the DOJ in July, alleging the Clinton administration FBI ‘chose to do absolutely nothing’ with her complaint in 1996, and that in the years since, Epstein was able to victimize more women. Farmer said she also complained again to the FBI in 2006 during the Bush administration.

Farmer’s complaint was among the tens of thousands of documents related to Epstein and Maxwell that the DOJ released on Friday, the transparency bill’s deadline. Other accusers, such as Marina Lacerda, have spoken out about their dissatisfaction with the file release, observing that it was incomplete and contained heavy redactions. The department has said more files are coming within the next two weeks.

Preparations for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan are underway, according to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. The announcement comes after representatives from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey participated in high-level U.S.-led talks in Miami.

‘In our discussions regarding phase two, we emphasized enabling a governing body in Gaza under a unified Gazan authority to protect civilians and maintain public order,’ Witkoff wrote on X. ‘We also discussed regional integration measures, including trade facilitation, infrastructure development, and cooperation on energy, water, and other shared resources, as essential to Gaza’s recovery, regional stability, and long-term prosperity.

‘We reviewed next steps in the phased implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Plan for Gaza, underscoring the importance of sequencing, coordination, and effective monitoring in partnership with local Gazan institutions and international partners.’

In addition to looking forward to the next phase, the group reflected on the implementation of the first part of the ceasefire, which Witkoff said ‘yielded progress.’

During the first phase, humanitarian aid went into the Gaza Strip, hostilities were reduced and there was a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces. Additionally, all living hostages and most deceased hostages were released. The last remaining hostage is Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

The U.S.-led talks on the second phase of the plan were proceeded by a similar meeting in Cairo, which reportedly included Turkey and Egypt’s intelligence chiefs, as well as Qatar’s prime minister.

‘During the meeting, [they] also agreed to continue strengthening coordination and cooperation with the Civil Military Coordination Center to eliminate all obstacles to ensure the continuity of the ceasefire and to prevent further violations,’ a Turkish source told Reuters, adding that they also discussed countering alleged Israeli ceasefire violations.

The second phase of the deal involves the deployment of an international stabilization force and the development of an international body to govern Gaza. It also includes the disarmament of Hamas. Additionally, Israel will move further from the so-called ‘yellow line’ ahead of the international force taking over, according to The Times of Israel.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Saturday the agency is ramping up its use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to counter domestic and international threats.

In a post on X, Patel said the FBI has been advancing its technology, calling AI a ‘key component’ of its strategy to respond to threats and stay ‘ahead of the game.’

‘FBI has been working on key technology advances to keep us ahead of the game and respond to an always changing threat environment both domestically and on the world stage,’ Patel wrote. ‘Artificial intelligence is a key component of this.

‘We’ve been working on an AI project to assist our investigators and analysts in the national security space — staying ahead of bad actors and adversaries who seek to do us harm.’

Patel added that FBI leadership has established a ‘technology working group’ led by outgoing Deputy Director Dan Bongino to ensure the agency’s tools ‘evolve with the mission.’

‘These are investments that will pay dividends for America’s national security for decades to come,’ Patel said.

A spokesperson for the FBI told Fox News Digital it had nothing further to add beyond Patel’s X post.

The FBI uses AI for tools such as vehicle recognition, voice-language identification, speech-to-text analysis and video analytics, according to the agency’s website.

Earlier this week, Bongino announced he would leave the bureau in January after speculation rose about his departure.

‘I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January,’ Bongino wrote in an X post Wednesday. ‘I want to thank President [Donald] Trump, AG [Pam] Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose. Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you. God bless America, and all those who defend Her.’

PHOENIX, Ariz. – While it is true that Erika Kirk is head of one of the nation’s leading conservative groups, at one point this weekend at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, she made it clear that she holds an even more important title: mother.

After two days of infighting at the conference between some of its top stars, Kirk smiled on stage Friday night and said, ‘Well, say what you want about AmFest, but it’s definitely not boring. Feels like a Thanksgiving dinner where your family’s hashing out the family business.’

This is the best and most positive way to look at the squabbling in Phoenix between Ben Shapiro, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and other right-wing celebrities. It has been mostly over Israel, and it was a sideshow few attendees expected or particularly wanted.

Brent, in his 50s and from Oklahoma City, came to AmFest with his two sons.

‘I was in there the night Ben and Tucker went at each other, at one point, I told my wife, I’m going out for some air, I just felt like I needed to escape to the real world, you know?’ he told me over a smoke.

I did know. 

Along with sniping over Israel and antisemitism, the question of what a ‘heritage American’ is, or if it is a thing at all, also spurred division. Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told the crowd, ‘I think the idea of a heritage American is about as loony as anything the woke left has actually put up,’ adding ‘There is no American who is more American than somebody else.… It is binary. Either you’re an American or you’re not.’

This would have been Civics 101, even for conservatives, not long ago, but Ramaswamy is right to mention wokeness, because proponents of the concept that a genealogy that leads back to nation’s founding is something special is mainly driven by such people being told for decades now that it is actually the only lineage that is not special, or something to be proud of.

I asked Dennis, who is the fourth-generation owner of a farm in South Dakota, which sounds pretty heritage-y to me, what he made of it all.

‘I don’t think much about that,’ he said. ‘If you love the country and follow the laws, you can be an American.’

Dennis was much more interested in, and comfortable talking about soybeans and sugar beets. I asked how the tariffs were affecting him, and he told me, ‘It’s hurt, but I look at the big picture and I think it will be good in the long run.’

It was tempting after speaking, not just with Dennis, but with many attendees, old and young, who are most focused on prices, to think, ‘It’s the economy, stupid, knock it off with the identity politics stuff.’ But Erika Kirk made a good point: These might be fights the right needs to have before settling into next year’s midterm elections.

TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet posted on X with this very message.

‘If we force conformity without uncomfortable debates, there can be no winning consensus,’ he wrote. ‘There’s no civil war. This is the necessary work of a conservative coalition defining its dominant center ahead of the coming battles. We’re not hive-minded commies. Let it play out.’

It should also be noted how much better hashing all of this out at an actual live event is than endless sniping on social media where nobody is ever really forced to contend with ideas they oppose. The mere act of shaking hands with someone you disagree with can be a powerful calming influence.

On Sunday, the big finale of AmFest will be Vice President JD Vance’s speech to the assembled. As of 4 a.m., there was already a line for it.

Sarah, a college freshman told me, ‘I wasn’t old enough to vote for Trump, but I will get to vote for Vance, and I’m excited about that.’ This is good news for Vance, but it’s also a lot of pressure. Can he be the force that mends the wounds opening this weekend at AmFest? 

Erika Kirk is right, families sometimes fight. In fact, sometimes they have to. But the question is always what happens after the blowup, after the tears and recriminations?

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told the crowd this weekend, ‘You may not like Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, Steve Bannon or me. Guess what: If the radical left wins, we all hang together.’

This seems correct, and even after AmFest’s nasty internecine fighting, it is still a goal well within reach of TPUSA and the conservative movement. It is also almost certainly what Charlie Kirk would have wanted.

President Trump is rightfully angry that some of his top choices for U.S. attorneys in Democrat-controlled states are being blocked by Democrats and their leftist allies in the judicial branch. But the recent attacks from some supporters of the president against Sen. Chuck Grassley, Trump’s most effective ally in the Senate, are misplaced.

To start, remember who Grassley is. He’s a dignified statesman but also a shrewd legislator, fearless investigator and Senate workhorse. He doesn’t chase the limelight but quietly puts one win after the other on the scoreboard for Trump and his MAGA agenda.

This isn’t bluster. Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices, and two were carried squarely on the shoulders of Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. He stopped former President Barack Obama from filling a Supreme Court seat with Merrick Garland, Joe Biden’s anti-Trump lawfare-supporting AG, enabling Trump to install Justice Neil Gorsuch instead. And when Democrats tried to ruin Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s life and derail his nomination, it was Grassley’s steady hand that guided Kavanaugh through the partisan spectacle, shut down the lies and got him confirmed.

Grassley’s done more than anybody in Congress to expose partisan lawfare against Trump. It’s thanks to Grassley that we know of the existence of Arctic Frost, Jack Smith and the Biden FBI’s demented campaign to put Trump behind bars and make any Republican that so much as breathed a subject of a criminal investigation. 

Whistleblowers at the FBI knew they could only trust one man to bring these damning details to light: Chuck Grassley. Now we know the Biden Justice Department and complicit judges spied on Republican members of both the House and the Senate and sought records for hundreds of other MAGA patriots, many of whom are a part of Trump’s administration today, like Dan Scavino, Peter Navarro and Harmeet Dhillon, who Grassley led to confirmation as Judiciary Committee chairman.

In fact, Grassley is literally breaking his own records when it comes to Senate confirmations. He’s processing and confirming judges at a rate faster than in Trump’s first administration, when Grassley was also Judiciary chairman. He navigated the vicious onslaught to confirm Judge Emil Bove, flipping the 3rd Circuit to majority Republican appointees. He bulldozed opposition and confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department leaders. 

He’s also processing U.S. attorneys through his committee faster than Democrats did during the Biden administration. And he’s doing it all while leading the charge against judicial activism and unconstitutional universal injunctions. And the billions of dollars the administration received in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill to secure our border and lock up dangerous criminals? Those border security provisions were written by none other than — you guessed it — Chuck Grassley.

We’re on pace to see the same number of attorney confirmations by year’s end as in Biden’s first year. But a few of his top choices — friends of mine and fellow warriors like Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan— have been stopped by Democrats using a century-old ‘blue slip’ rule.

Sideline commentators and keyboard warriors seem to think Grassley could just bang his chairman’s gavel and make the blue slip go away. But is Grassley, the man who’s done so much for Trump, really sandbagging these nominees? The answer, for those who care to actually do their homework, is no.

The blue slip should go, but Grassley can’t just make it happen alone. He needs votes to advance nominees, and he doesn’t have them without blue slips. Months ago, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., stated unequivocally on the Senate floor he wouldn’t confirm nominees without one. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., echoed this. That ends the conversation. Without the vote of either of these two members of the Judiciary Committee, nominees fail, regardless of Grassley’s actions.

And Tillis and Kennedy are hardly alone. Senators, both Republican and Democrat, won’t soon give up this power. All 100 senators prioritize having a say in who gets to be a judge or prosecutor in their state over letting the president decide who serves in other states. That’s why Democrat Dick Durbin couldn’t get rid of the blue slip when he chaired the Judiciary Committee during the Biden administration, even though progressive activists and their media allies begged him to do it.

Senators also won’t get rid of the blue slip because they know it benefits them when they’re in the minority. Republicans used the blue slip to block Biden from appointing nearly 30 district judges, and, so far, Trump has nominated 15 bold constitutionalist judges to fill the seats that Republicans held open.

I don’t like blue slips, but I live in the real world. I can count votes, and I know blue slips aren’t going away. As the Senate Judiciary Committee’s chief counsel for nominations, working for Grassley in Trump’s first term, I helped end blue slips for circuit judges because their jurisdictions cover multiple states and therefore their fates obviously shouldn’t be determined by a single state’s senators. That was a major achievement, but the limit of what was possible for now.

Democrats will stop at nothing to evade accountability, and Trump shouldn’t let them. His administration should use every tactic to overcome obstruction and pursue lawfare perpetrators. He’s right to want the blue slip’s end. But the Senate simply won’t deliver it this Congress as the votes don’t exist, and the president’s public outrage unfortunately hasn’t moved the needle yet.

As I’ve said before, to abolish the blue slip, the administration must build support by securing commitments from at least 50 Republican senators, including every Senate Judiciary Republican, to vote for nominees without blue slips. Grassley wants Trump’s nominees to succeed and knows the votes currently aren’t there for nominees who don’t have blue slips. Trump should trust his most effective Senate ally’s judgment. Grassley is a workhorse, not a showhorse. And Grassley has delivered more for Trump than any other senator.

A photo of former President Bill Clinton topless in a dimly lit hot tub with his arms folded behind his head was included in a massive trove of Jeffrey Epstein files released Friday by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In another photo, Clinton is seen wading in a pool next to Ghislaine Maxwell and a woman whose face was redacted by authorities.

Subsequent photos showed Clinton posing with American pop stars Michael Jackson and Diana Ross and seated on a plane next to a female wearing an American flag pin whose face was redacted.

He was also seen smiling arm-in-arm with the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Epstein at what appeared to be a dinner party, wearing a festive shirt.

The locations where the photos were taken were not included, and no context was provided.

White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson took to social media Friday afternoon to comment on the never-before-seen photos of the former POTUS.

‘Here is Bill Clinton in a hot tub next to someone whose identity has been redacted. Per the Epstein Files Transparency Act, DOJ was specifically instructed only to redact the faces of victims and/or minors,’ Jackson wrote. ‘Time for the media to start asking real questions.’

Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Angel Ureña, accused the White House of trying to ‘hide [things] forever,’ in a statement on X, implying President Donald Trump continued a relationship with Epstein after his crimes were revealed.

‘The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever,’ Ureña wrote in the post. ‘So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be. Even Susie Wiles said Donald Trump was wrong about Bill Clinton.

‘There are two types of people here,’ he continued. ‘The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships with him after. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that. Everyone, especially MAGA, expects answers, not scapegoats.’

The DOJ dumped thousands of documents and hundreds of photos on its website Friday, all supposedly obtained by authorities during investigations into Epstein and Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases. 

Other photos showed interior and exterior views of Epstein’s properties, personal photos of Epstein with various people and heavily redacted potential victim exhibits.

While more than a dozen politically known individuals appeared in the files, Clinton and other notable figures’ inclusion in the files does not necessarily imply wrongdoing.

The document drop was triggered by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the DOJ to make the files public 30 days from its Nov. 19 signing by President Donald Trump.

Some files may be withheld by the DOJ if disclosure would jeopardize an ongoing investigation or prosecution, to safeguard victims’ privacy or to avoid publishing sensitive child sexual abuse material.

Ross’ communications teams did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow would refrain from launching new attacks on other nations provided his country is treated ‘with respect.’

The Kremlin made the remarks during his annual televised press conference in Moscow as concerns persist among European nations that Russia poses a security threat, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

‘Will there be new special military operations? There will be no operations if you treat us with respect, if you observe our interests, just as we have constantly tried to observe yours,’ Putin said.

Putin uses the phrase ‘special military operation’ to describe Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, according to AFP.

He added there would be no further Russian invasions ‘if you don’t cheat us like you cheated us with NATO’s eastward expansion,’ according to the BBC.

The Russian leader also claimed he was ‘ready and willing’ to end the war in Ukraine ‘peacefully,’ though he offered few details suggesting a willingness to compromise, the BBC reported.

The yearly news conference, which typically runs at least four hours, features questions from reporters and members of the public across Russia. 

More than 2.5 million questions were submitted for this year’s event, which focused heavily on the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Putin also noted during the event that the nation’s ‘troops are advancing’ and expressed confidence that Russia will accomplish its objectives through military means if Ukraine does not assent to Russia’s terms during peace talks, according to The Associated Press.

‘Our troops are advancing all across the line of contact, faster in some areas or slower in some others, but the enemy is retreating in all sectors,’ Putin declared.

As the war drags on, the European Union has just agreed to provide Ukraine with a loan of over $105 billion.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

It’s not just Minnesota.

The past few weeks have made clear that fraudsters stole billions of dollars from states’ welfare programs, much of it from Medicaid. It also appears that Democratic politicians tolerated the heist for their own political benefit. 

Yet politicians in virtually every state have let waste, fraud and abuse spread like wildfire in Medicaid, putting taxpayers on the hook for an estimated $2 trillion in improper spending over the next decade alone. 

Thankfully, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have given states a reason to clean up this mess and spare taxpayers that pain.

In a new paper, I show how Democrats have turned Medicaid into one of the most fraud-ridden programs in America — and how Republicans are fixing it. While Medicaid has long been plagued with improper spending, Democrats supercharged this crisis in the Obama years.

ObamaCare added tens of millions of able-bodied adults to the program, yet that population is much more likely to be ineligible.

The Obama administration refused to rigorously check eligibility, and the Biden administration adopted the same policy, deliberately hiding an explosion in waste, fraud and abuse. Meanwhile, states refused to police their Medicaid programs, confident that the federal government would look the other way and cover the tab.

The first Trump administration found that 27.4% of federal Medicaid spending was improper in 2020, or about $120 billion at the time. The administration also found that four out of every five improper payments were the result of eligibility errors. This money flowed to people who shouldn’t have been on Medicaid and therefore diverted money and care away from its intended recipients. Five years later, it’s highly likely that at least one in five Medicaid dollars is still wrongly spent.

Call this what it is — an assault on taxpayers. It’s also a clear violation of federal law. States are legally required to reimburse the federal government for Washington’s share of Medicaid payments if their improper payment rates are above 3%, a far cry from the 27.4% rate in 2020.

The Trump administration is once again conducting eligibility checks, but even without that info, it’s all but certain that every state already exceeds the 3% threshold. The only reason they’ve avoided a budget blowout is by receiving so-called ‘good faith waivers’ from Washington. Essentially, states have promised that they’ll tackle fraud and abuse, even when they have no intention of doing so.

Republicans called time on this rigged game in the law President Trump signed July 4. They effectively eliminated good-faith waivers and told states that, starting in 2030, they will be forced to cover the federal share of any improper payments above 3%. While five years may seem like an eternity, it’s an acknowledgment that states have a mountain to climb to bring their error rates into the low single digits. 

Consider Ohio. In 2019, it had an improper payment rate of nearly 45%, giving the Buckeye State the worst record in the nation for waste, fraud and abuse. Based on its most recent spending levels, Ohio would be on the hook for $9.7 billion, equal to roughly 15% of its current state budget. Illinois, with a 35.4% rate, would pay $6.4 billion, a tough ask given the state’s famous fiscal woes. Even states with lower improper payment rates, like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Missouri, would still be looking at annual costs of more than $1 or $2 billion.

Without reform, I estimate that states will pay a combined $100 billion in penalties beginning in 2030. Their only hope to avoid this fiscal pain is to immediately start rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. In the state legislative sessions that start in January, lawmakers should focus on several key reforms.

First, stop allowing Medicaid recipients to self-attest their income, address and other personal information. Using the honor system invites abuse.

Second, review recipients’ eligibility at least twice a year for able-bodied adults and once a year for everyone else, thereby removing ineligible individuals early and often.

Third, cross-check Medicaid data with easily accessible information such as wage, hiring and tax records; returned mail and changes of address; out-of-state food stamp transactions; and prison and death records. These basic good government measures can quickly identify people wrongly receiving taxpayer money.

Waiting to tackle Medicaid fraud is the most foolish thing states can do. So is hoping that Democrats get their wish and successfully repeal Republicans’ Medicaid reforms. That won’t happen while Trump is president. And if states wait to see the outcome of the 2028 election, they may be disappointed. At that point, they’d face an even steeper hill with barely a year to get their act together.

There’s no avoiding the reality that Democrats broke Medicaid — in Minnesota and everywhere else — or that Republicans have given states an urgent mandate to finally root out the waste, fraud and abuse.

 Michael Greibrok is a Senior Research Fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability.