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The so-called "QAnon Shaman" remains steadfast in his support of Donald Trump ... despite doing hard time in federal prison for his part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Jacob Chansley, easily the most recognizable Capitol rioter, says he's still on Team Trump ... and he's not blaming the former president for the insurrection, or the prison sentences he and others received.

In his first interview since being released early from prison, Chansley told Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan the riot wasn't Trump's fault in the slightest ... he says Trump should NOT be "blamed for the actions of free citizens."

The way Chansley sees it ... the rioters made their own individual decisions to storm the Capitol and Trump had no responsibility to bail them out or pardon them before leaving office.

The one thing Trump could've done, Chansley says, was start a legal defense fund for the Capitol rioters.

As we reported ... Chansley, who stormed the Capitol in a Viking-style outfit, copped a plea deal with prosecutors and pled guilty to obstructing an official proceeding before Congress ... after initially being arrested for knowingly entering/remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, among other counts.

Chansley was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison ... but he got out early after about 16 months, reportedly for good behavior, and now he's back home in Arizona.

President Biden's administration may or may not be shocked to hear Iran was supposedly instrumental in the lead-up to the attack on Israel ... the implications of which are dire.

The Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report Sunday, citing multiple sources from within Hamas, Hezbollah and even a European official with knowledge ... all of whom say Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps worked with Hamas in planning the ambush.

This alleged coordination dates back several weeks, apparently ... with talks going as far back as August and several reported meetings taking place in Beirut between all the parties. In addition to Iran being involved, WSJ reports that Lebanon's Hezbollah was in the mix.

The intention in all this, per WSJ, was two-pronged ... Iran apparently wanted to manufacture a "multi-front threat" against Israel -- this as the country grappled with its own internal politics, while disrupting U.S.-brokered peace talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

When asked directly about whether the U.S. had any knowledge of Iran's alleged involvement in directing the Hamas-led attack ... Sec. of State Anthony Blinken denied knowing anything about it, saying there was no evidence on their end that was, in fact, the case.

A separate U.S. official said the same thing to the WSJ ... but the outlet is insisting people overseas are saying differently. If what they're saying is true -- it's troubling on many fronts.

For one, it would be an indictment on U.S intelligence ... but it would also indicate that a broader conflict in the Middle East is looming -- with Israel having already gone on the record to say they would retaliate if it was found that Tehran sanctioned this Hamas move.

Terrorists unleashed a surprise attack in Israel this weekend that has left scores of people dead -- marking what's sure to be the start of a prolonged bloodbath in the Middle East.

The radical group known as Hamas swarmed Israeli territory along the Gaza Strip and surrounding areas early Saturday morning -- this after launching countless rockets at civilian buildings and going around to wreak havoc on the streets thereafter in armed convoys.

There are several videos surfacing from Israel that capture the sheer brutality and horror of what's happening on the ground ... and most of them are far too graphic for publication.

What we can show, however, are key clips of Israelis being taken hostage in this hellish ordeal -- including lots of women and children who are being wrangled by Hamas members and thrown into the backs of their trucks ... getting tossed and thrashed and mistreated.

As of this writing, the official body count on Israel's side is upwards of 150 ... and it continues to soar as the government scours through the wreckage and aftermath. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is "at war" following the Hamas incursion -- and promised to retaliate with everything in his power to send a message of deterrence.

Israel has already begun to do that ... firing its own rockets and destroying buildings that are believed to be affiliated with Hamas militants -- and there are aerial strikes happening as well.

The fighting has only escalated since the initial onslaught ... the latest reports say a new wave of rockets have been fired from the Gaza region and are headed toward central Israel, including Tel Aviv. The U.S. is already on its toes in the wake of all this ugly news.

If President Biden's dog Commander, AKA the White House biter, really is getting training -- as the administration's claimed -- he's been getting the wrong kind ... that's according to a former Secret Service officer who's dealt with other First pooches.

Marshall Mirarchi worked in the Secret Service's K-9 division for a decade -- including when Biden was VP in the Obama administration -- and he joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to explain why he's not so sure Commander's legitimately graduated obedience school.

According to Marshall, dogs NEVER get past a point of no return -- even a recidivist like Commander -- when it comes to training. He says they can always be re-trained, although the amount of time it takes a dog to fall in line is a different story.

Regardless, Marshall thinks all signs point to Commander not getting the proper direction, and he tells us what can, and should, be done to get him White House-ready again.

He also addressed how difficult it is for WH staffers living and working with a dog that's, up to this point, very unpredictable.

As we reported, Commander was booted from the White House this week after reportedly biting a minimum of 11 people -- with at least 1 recent victim being sent to the hospital.

President Biden's pooch, Commander, is in the doghouse ... he's been booted from the White House amid an alarming number of biting incidents.

The Bidens' 2-year-old German Shepherd is reported to have chomped down on way more than the 11 incidents the Secret Service acknowledges ... it's said Commander is not only biting agents but also folks who work around the White House and at the president's residence.

As a result, Commander's no longer living at the White House, according to CNN ... he's getting a change in scenery as Joe and Jill try to figure out what to do with their dog.

It's part of a troubling trend for Commander ... and now we're learning more about the severity of the bites, with CNN reporting at least one sent the victim to the hospital, and another required medical attention.

The reason only 11 bites are officially on the record ... several incidents are going untreated and unreported.

Remember ... the White House Press Secretary says Commander was feeling stressed out by all the commotion and people darting back and forth in the residence of The White House and other areas as well.

Now, Commander's gotten the boot from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue like his older brother, Major ... the prez's other German Shepherd who also found himself in biting trouble.

Donald Trump has found himself on the outs with Forbes -- at least as it pertains to its richest Americans list -- 'cause he's fallen off the top 400 club ... again.

Here's the deal ... DT was first removed from the coveted baller group in 2021 -- amid a rocky exit from the White House -- but he got back in just last year, clocking No. 343 with a then-estimated net worth of $3.2 billion ... following real estate sales and other ventures.

Now in 2023, he has once more fallen off the 400 list with a current estimated net worth of $2.6 billion. You'd think all the indictments against him -- not to mention a civil trial that's taken a hard look at his wealth/property values -- would be to blame ... but not necessarily.

According to Forbes, his dip in riches is actually more attributed to a bad investment in Truth Social -- which the outlet notes has mostly failed to take off and attract a consistent user base -- as well as some of his office buildings depreciating on the market.

Trump's commercial real estate portfolio has apparently taken a major hit amid remote work and some cities seeing a trend of residents fleeing -- like SF, where he holds some assets.

In other words, it's just the regular economy that seems to have dinged him here ... and not so much the mounting legal bills. Another interesting nugget from this report -- Forbes pegs DT's liquid wealth to be in the ballpark of about $426 million, so he's far from broke.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi says she's getting the boot from her Capitol office as a new pro tempore Speaker ascends to power -- and the eviction comes at a really inconvenient time.

The former Speaker of the House announced late Tuesday she'd gotten an email from Rep. Patrick McHenry's office -- this after he was named the GOP's interim Speaker following Kevin McCarthy's ousting -- which told her to beat it by Wednesday.

The email reportedly reads, "Going to reassign h-132 for speaker office use. Please vacate the space tomorrow." McHenry's camp is also apparently threatening to rekey the room.

The problem ... Pelosi isn't even in D.C. right now -- she's in Cali mourning the death of her close friend Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who just died last week. Pelosi's pretty peeved about being evicted, calling the move a "sharp departure from tradition" -- noting she'd given other ex-Speakers in the past their own office spaces for as long as they wanted.

She also notes she won't be able to retrieve her belongings in time seeing how she's on the West Coast and won't be back in D.C. for at least a couple days. Pelosi says this is petty.

She says, "Office space doesn’t matter to me, but it seems to be important to them. Now that the new Republican Leadership has settled this important matter, let’s hope they get to work on what’s truly important for the American people."

FWIW, Pelosi is among a select few members of Congress who had extra offices -- in addition to the one she's getting kicked out of ... she has a main one in the Cannon House office building, where the fire alarm got pulled over the weekend by a fellow Dem.

Taylor Swift has a chance to make it 3 consecutive trips to see Travis Kelce's games, and the Mayor of Minneapolis is leading the cheers for her to do so this coming weekend ... TMZ has learned.

Mayor Jacob Frey tells us he and the rest of the city are ready to welcome TayTay with open arms this Sunday, which is when the Kansas City Chiefs play the Minnesota Vikings for an afternoon match-up -- he even has an on-the-nose message to encourage her.

Frey says, "We know All Too Well the positive impact Taylor Swift has on the cities she visits -- Minneapolis is no exception."

The Mayor has fond memories of her tour stop in Minneapolis earlier this year, adding ... "Her two, sold-out concerts at U.S. Bank Stadium in June led to a record-setting tourism weekend including booked-up hotels and packed downtown restaurants... boosting our local economy beyond our Wildest Dreams."

Here's how you know Mayor Frey has his fingers crossed ... "If Taylor chooses to come back to Minneapolis [sometimes known as Swiftieapolis] this weekend, we’ll be Ready For It. It’s possible she will have to console Travis Kelce after the Vikings beat the Chiefs, but there are plenty of great spots across town for them to go on a date and lift their spirits!"

FWIW, the Swiftieapolis thing is real ... they literally changed city's name (if only for a short time), so yeah -- with his clear knowledge of Taylor's catalog -- it's fair to say Hizzoner's a full on Swiftie.

Fact is, every NFL city would feel this way ... as Taylor's proven to have massive appeal in terms of media attention, and consumer spending across multiple industries, that usually translates to more traffic ... and oftentimes, more moolah, too.

The 2 NFL games she's attended have turned out to be a ratings bonanza for Fox and NBC, the networks that televised them. Next week, it's CBS's turn and it sounds like Mayor Frey wants to get in on the action as well.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy just got booted from his role as Speaker of the House of Representatives ... after losing a historic vote 216 to 210.

The House voted to ditch the CA Republican from the leadership position Tuesday in D.C. ... with 8 Republicans siding with Democrats and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz's call to kick him out.

This marks the first time in history a speaker has been ousted from their post in the middle of their term. It's also the first time the House took the floor for a vote that challenged the Speaker since 1910.

One person who was absent from Tuesday's voting was former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ... who was in San Francisco mourning the death of former Senator Dianne Feinstein.

The House vote came after Gaetz filed the motion to have McCarthy removed as Speaker.

Of course, Gaetz has been threatening to bring the hammer down for a while, because he was upset with McCarthy for working with the Dems to avoid a government shutdown.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats will "continue to put people over politics. We are ready to find bipartisan common ground."

Gaetz spoke out before the crucial vote, saying, “Chaos is Speaker McCarthy. Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word.”

Allies of McCarthy, like Rep. Tom Emmer, told his colleagues, "Now it’s time to stand together stronger than ever so we can get back to the work our majority was elected to do. I’m proud to support the speaker.”

For the time being, Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican from NC, takes over as Speaker Pro Tempore.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling BS on Donald Trump's reported weight ... and while he ain't sure what the former prez's exact poundage is, Arnold's eyeballs tell him Trump missed the mark by about 100 pounds.

The actor was chatting with Jimmy Kimmel Monday night on the host's first show back since the writers' strike ended ... and since he's all about fitness, Arnold weighed in on the topic of Trump's booking records claiming he's 215 pounds.

Before he took a guess, Arnold gave Trump some advice on how he could lose weight -- a decent one-liner about going for a jog which got a big laugh from the crowd.

Jimmy asks again if Trump's Fulton County jail records are accurate when it comes to his size ... and Arnold has some pretty sarcastic responses for the potential of 215 lbs being legit. In his eyes, Trump might've put a 2 when he really meant a 3.

As you know, Trump surrendered to Fulton County authorities at the end of August and was charged for his alleged efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results.

The booking docs claimed the "Blond or Strawberry" haired 77-year-old was 6'3" and 215 lbs.

On a related note ... Trump and/or his legal team had bags of McDonald's delivered Monday to a NY court where he's currently on trial for his $250 million civil fraud case.

We're not sure if Arnold had that information when he guessed ... but we might wanna take another swing at it.

Meghan Markle's name has reportedly been getting kicked around to fill Dianne Feinstein's Senate seat -- which makes sense ... based on what the governor has said about who's next.

This speculation comes courtesy of the Daily Mail, so take it with a grain of salt ... albeit, admittedly, an intriguing one. The UK outlet reports that "phones lit up" this weekend with chatter over the possibility of the Duchess being tapped to fill the now-vacant seat.

They also quoted one anonymous bigwig Dem donor as saying that Meg was a long shot, but that her being chosen wasn't outside the realm of possibility in these crazy times.

DM also reports MM's made it known, privately, that she has lofty political ambitions -- saying she's apparently eyeing a White House run one day ... and that she's already met with Gavin Newsom about a U.S. Senate appointment -- however, that was supposedly back in 2020, when Kamala Harris' seat was left vacant, and GN obviously didn't pick Meg to fill it.

While that was then ... the situation is quite different now, and actually appears to favor Meghan being appointed as an interim Senator -- and it's because of Newsom's own words.

A couple years ago -- when concerns over Feinstein's health first bubbled up -- Newsom told MSNBC's Joy Reid that he would appoint a Black woman to fill Feinstein's seat in the case that she retired, or other circumstances (like her sudden death). He made no bones about it.

He doubled down on that pledge just a few weeks during an interview on "Meet the Press" -- but hedged this time ... saying it would be a Black woman who hasn't already publicly announced they'll be running for the seat in the next election cycle (November 2024).

The rationale here ... at least 3 high-profile Dem politicians have already said they're vying for the seat in November -- when it's up for grabs during the election -- and Newsom says he doesn't wanna appear to favor any one of them by appointing them to fill in right now.

In other words, he basically needs someone (a Black woman, specifically) to just fill in for the time being as a figurehead -- while the real candidates take center stage next year. As Chuck Todd put it (and to which Newsom seemingly agreed) ... a "caretaker" appointment.

Rep. Barbara Lee -- who's one of the 3 leading Dem candidates who'll run for the seat, alongside Adam Schiff and Katie Porter -- called out Newsom's thinking as patronizing.

However, that type of situation is kinda exactly what Meg would need to launch herself into politics -- about 13 or so months on the job, in the national spotlight, to get a little juice for more moves down the road ... assuming she's seriously considering a life in politics.

Also, remember ... she's apparently been working with a PR company of late that was once tied directly to Michelle Obama -- so she certainly seems primed for something like this.

A lot of questions remain about a potential bid for the Senate, though ... including, what does Prince Harry have to say about it? We know he supports 100%, so he'd probably be on board if she really wanted it.

George Washington's got a price on his head ... because a lock of his famous hair is on the open market.

The first president of the United States had a lock of his white hair preserved for centuries ... and now it's up for sale for $45,000.

Washington's hair lock is tied up in an oval shape and bound by a glass case, which is wrapped in pearls. There's also an engraving with his initials 'GW' on the back of the case.

The lock was given to the Derby family back in the day, as the Derbys were close with both George and his wife, Martha.

Washington's hair remained in the Derby family for several generations ... it was handed down from son to son and now it's hitting the open market through Moments In Time.

A letter dated Aug. 15, 1873, is also included with Washington's hair ... it's correspondence between the Derbys and another collector, talking about the locks.

Remember ... GW supposedly didn't wear a wig, unlike many of his contemporaries, and actually powdered his own hairdo.

A U.S. congressman pulled a fire alarm on Capitol Hill this weekend right before the House was set to vote on a spending bill in hopes of avoiding a government shutdown.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) copped to the apparent delay tactic Saturday ... with a rep from his office saying, "Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote. The Congressman regrets any confusion."

Capitol Police released a photo to the public, which appears to show Bowman pulling down the lever inside the Cannon House Office Building -- adjacent the Capitol itself -- which obviously set off a siren in the building and evacuation to follow. He's now under investigation for the stunt ... and Republicans are slamming as unpatriotic.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he was appalled that Dems would resort to something like this ... accusing them as a party of trying to force the federal government into a freeze.

Now, as for the actual vote itself ... it eventually continued, and a bill proposed by House Republicans actually got enough votes to pass -- which will now get kicked over to the Senate. They gotta vote on it soon ... come midnight, the shutdown goes into effect.

The bill -- which was voted in as a bipartisan, 45-day stopgap -- has a lot of disaster relief funding in it ... but no extra cash for Ukraine, which is something Dems were seeking.

The White House says this House bill should do the trick for now, but they expect McCarthy to bring a separate bill "shortly" to address the Ukraine issue. Time will tell if he does.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has had a tough go at running for president as a Democrat -- so, now, it sounds like he's gonna try another way ... as an independent candidate.

The polarizing political figure -- who's caused a stir trying to challenge Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination over the past several months -- kicked the rumors into high gear Friday with a teaser to his big announcement on Oct. 9 ... when he says he'll have big news.

RFK Jr. will make a speech in Philly that day -- and based on what he's signaling here ... it sure sounds like going to pivot away from Dems and Republicans, and go his own way.

BTW, there are reports suggesting that is, in fact, what's going to happen. As for why -- well, it's no secret ... dude's been very frustrated with the Democratic National Committee.

Kennedy has been calling on a debate between himself and Biden for a while now ... but Joe's team has brushed the request off, as has the DNC. The feeling is -- they're not taking his candidacy seriously ... but RFK Jr. insists JB (the incumbent) should have to earn re-election by having to go through him first. Now, he's found a roundabout way to disrupt.

Fact is ... as an independent, Kennedy could potentially do damage to Joe's campaign by siphoning away votes from people who don't necessarily wanna vote for Biden and prefer a 3rd option ... a la Bernie Sanders, who never actually did what RFK's apparently about to.

By the same token, RFK Jr. going independent could also ding Trump -- 'cause there's tons of conservatives who like the guy ... so it's a bit of a toss-up over who it could hurt more.

Bill Maher has high praise for President Biden -- he says he's done a good job and has brought some normalcy back to The White House -- but he needs to pass the torch now, or Trump will get reelected.

The 'Real Time' host is back in full force after the writers' strike settled, and could not have been more fired up about 2024. BM says Donald Trump MUST be defeated or democracy will surely die, but he believes Biden can't beat him ... because voters are scared about his age, as well as physical and mental acuity.

Maher says, it doesn't matter at this point whether Biden is sharp enough for a second term -- even Dems have deep reservations, and perception is now reality.

Maher says age should not be an automatic disqualifier ... it should be case by case. And speaking of ... you gotta hear Bill talk about Mitch McConnell ... that the freezing episodes looked like Mitch was in a "buffering state."

As for Trump ... he says even though he's around the same age as Biden ... somehow he seems more vibrant -- "Trump is like KISS. He puts on the face paint and the wig and he looks like he did in 1978!"

And speaking of Trump ... Bill hilariously has some pointers for the future possible cellmate of the former Prez ... you gotta watch.

Dianne Feinstein entertained a close friend at her house -- and posed for photos with her -- in the hours preceding her sudden death.

The esteemed, longtime Senator from California posed for a photo Thursday afternoon with former California congresswoman Jane Harman ... who told CNN she was likely the last person to see Dianne.

As we reported ... Dianne died Thursday night at her home in Washington D.C.

Dianne was 90 years old and needed a wheelchair to get around the Capitol earlier this month, but she was standing and smiling in Thursday's photo ... so her death was clearly unexpected, at least judging from the last pic she snapped.

In fact, Dianne was working right up until her death ... in addition to hosting Harman at home, Dianne cast her final vote Thursday on the Senate floor.

Dianne needed help getting onto the floor to vote ... raising her hand and voting 'aye' in favor of short-term funding for the government.