Politics

President Trump just threw Jeanine Pirro under the bus ... saying she folded like a cheap suit when her office dropped the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case against former Olympian David Hearn.

Trump tore into the U.S. Attorney on Monday ... arguing Hearn and others deliberately cut the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's waterproof liner ... despite Pirro saying on Friday that faulty installation was actually to blame.

POTUS blamed a hostile judge for the case unraveling ... but said Pirro ultimately buckled under the pressure -- "Frankly, I think she choked."

The Green Beret accused of using classified intel to cash in on the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is now betting a federal judge will toss the entire case.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke filed a motion Friday asking the judge to dismiss five charges accusing him of illegally using and stealing secret government information, defrauding the commodities market, committing wire fraud and moving money from the alleged scheme.

According to the filing, obtained by TMZ, Van Dyke's team of attorneys, including Mark Geragos, call the prosecution a first-of-its-kind "experiment" that twists federal commodities law to create a crime that didn't exist.

8/2/2026 2:28 PM PST -- A spokesperson for CNN tells TMZ ... Dana Bash is a veteran journalist who conducted a newsmaking interview with Secretary Kennedy in which he stated that he supports parents getting their children vaccinated against measles and addressed President Trump’s push for further study into autism and vaccines. Asking tough, substantive questions to those in power is the job of every journalist, and Dana did hers incredibly well today. We stand behind Dana, her reporting, and CNN’s overall coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dana Bash turned CNN’s "State of the Union" into a heated debate Sunday, with the HHS secretary and the anchor clashing over COVID, vaccines, public health, and autism research.

Watch the clip, as things got tense when Bash pressed Kennedy about his criticism of Dr. Anthony Fauci and asked how he would handle a future pandemic. RFK Jr. said protecting constitutional rights would be his top priority ... arguing that one of the mistakes made during COVID was “suppressing” those rights.

Bash pushed back, saying she was asking about a public health crisis -- not a constitutional rights debate -- that’s when Kennedy fired back saying “Because you were part of the problem.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno is done biting his tongue over former son-in-law Rep. Max Miller ... publicly branding the Ohio congressman "a danger" to his daughter and calling for him to leave office.

Moreno broke his silence Sunday after Miller accused his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, of struggling with "significant mental health challenges" during a video defending himself against allegations of abuse, which he denies.

Miller said Emily's alleged struggles contributed to accusations he "firmly disputes" ... insisting he raised the issue not to embarrass her, but out of concern for the former couple's young daughter.

Donald Trump just lashed out at U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro after she decided to dismiss a felony charge against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Check out 47's scorching Truth Social post from Saturday morning ... he says he "100%" disagrees with Pirro and doesn't know what she was thinking when her office decided to file a motion to drop the charge.

He says he believes the damage was caused by vandalism -- including the "big 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters" on the grass near the pool ... which is an anti-Trump reference.

Olympian David Hearn was torched by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who charged him with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ... but now she's eating her words and dropping the case, because the pieces that came apart were caused by shoddy installers.

President Trump made sweeping comments shortly after the Reflecting Pool started to fall apart, saying it was the result of "SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE."

Pirro claimed there were witnesses who saw Hearn reach down in the water and tear the lining. He insists he never did such a thing ... he just picked up a piece that was already dislodged.

Trump made all sorts of claims ... including that vandals cut a 300-foot gash with some sort of knife.

Nicki Minaj posted an odd video -- filmed in the dark -- pretending to be Dr. Anthony Fauci ... as she continues to rail against him publicly.

On Friday, the "Pink Friday 2" rapper posted a 59-second clip of her acting like she's Fauci ... and she starts off by saying, "Dear Diary, well the press is hot for me."

Nicki, doing her best Fauci impression, continues ... "They say I'm sexier than Tyra Banks. Julia Roberts gasped when she saw how handsome I was. Brad Pitt played me on 'SNL.'"

She takes some shots at Fauci, bringing us back to COVID times ... "Never mind that I sent millions of children back years on their education ... and the elderly are alone and afraid drying by themselves."

WGN is apologizing for airing a meme of Kyle Shanahan as Mitch McConnell during a news segment on the NFL head coach's recovery from a recent car crash ... telling TMZ the epic screwup was NOT malicious.

The station tells TMZ ... "On Wednesday's 'WGN Morning News Show' sports segment, we mistakenly aired a photo of Kyle Shanahan, coach of the San Francisco 49ers. The photo was an internet meme and not authentic, and we apologize for making the error. It was not intentional."

WGN's apology comes as the network continues to get dragged online.

Bad Bunny's going to be hopping mad about the White House's new video celebrating mass deportations ... because audio from one of his hit songs underscores scenes he abhors.

In the new clip -- posted to the White House TikTok Thursday afternoon -- Bad Bunny's song "LA MuDANZA" plays over a montage of people in handcuffs being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The video starts with President Trump waving at supporters as BB sings ... "un aplauso pa mami y papi porque en verdad rompieron" ... which translates to "A round of applause for mom and dad, because they really crushed it."

Trump's White House changed the translation to say "A round of applause for Donald J. Trump because he really crushed it" ... and they captioned the post, "We're making America great gain."

Mitch McConnell conspiracy theorists are off to the races again ... because his wife's outfit in the second proof-of-life snap looks awfully similar to the one she wore during a prior visit.

Elaine Chao wore a shirt-pants combo during a visit to see the Kentucky Senator in a rehab center on July 14 ... and she appears to be wearing the same outfit in the proof-of-life photo his office says was taken on July 26 ... 12 days after photogs snapped her.

The detail went mostly unnoticed ... until now ... and conspiracy theorists are more convinced than ever that McConnell is not as well as his office claims.

There has also been chatter that the shirt Elaine is wearing appears to be the same as one sold at Chico's -- which some think the former United States Secretary of Labor would never wear.

Nicki Minaj has a grim view of Dr. Fauci's future ... saying he'll be eating from feeding tubes and losing the ability to speak.

On Friday, the rapper posted a lengthy message on X with her bleak assessment of Fauci while also blaming the scientist for the pain and suffering that she believes he caused during the pandemic. Earlier this week, Fauci sat before the Senate to answer questions about the pandemic, but he clammed up and took the Fifth.

Nicki says Fauci -- who was the head of the White House's COVID-19 response -- was responsible for all the trauma to newborns, young children, pregnant women, the elderly and many other people who survived the global health crisis.

Dr. Anthony Fauci isn't being railroaded like alleged Communist sympathizers during the Joe McCarthy era ... so says Rep. Nancy Mace.

The Congresswoman from South Carolina joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to discuss the ongoing hearings ... and she pushed back on Harvey Levin's argument that this is just Red Scare McCarthyism 2.0.

Rep. Mace strongly disagrees ... saying Senator McCarthy targeted innocent people in different groups to destroy them -- whereas Congress is investigating a man who really did some serious damage.

Hunter Biden and the rapper YG have something in common ... they're not afraid to yell "F*** Donald Trump" at the top of their lungs!

Joe Biden's son appeared on Barstool's "Macrodosing" podcast in an episode published late Wednesday night ... and he made it clear there's no love lost for Trump or any of his descendants.

Hunter said of Trump, "F*** him" ... before adding, "f*** his sons, f*** his daughter. I mean it."

A popular Wisconsin brewery promising free beer when President Donald Trump dies is fighting to stay open as the state plans to revoke its alcohol permit ... and the owner says he's a political target!!!

The Minocqua Brewing Company says the Wisconsin Department of Revenue is planning to shut it down by August 4 ... according to a newsletter published by owner Kirk Bangstad, a vocal Trump critic.

Bangstad -- who often shares anti-Trump sentiments on social media and touts the brewery as "the state's most progressive brewery" -- claims the government is trying to make an example out of him because of his political views.

The brewery owner says ... "They'll have to pry me out of my taprooms before I stop selling beer to thirsty progressives who come to visit us."