House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) issued a subpoena to former special counsel Jack Smith to appear for a deposition. “The Committee on the Judiciary is continuing to conduct oversight of the operations of the Office of Special Counsel you led – specifically, your team’s prosecutions of President Donald J. Trump and his co-defendants,” a letter to Smith read. “Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter,” it continued. “Jack Smith Subpoenaed,” Jordan wrote on X. Jack Smith Subpoenaed. pic.twitter.com/hjqInNjGSG — Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) December 3, 2025 A closer look: Fox News has more: The forthcoming deposition, which is set to take place behind closed doors, comes as House and Senate Republicans have zeroed in on Smith’s election-related investigation of Trump, describing it as a scandal that unnecessarily swept up hundreds of Republican lawmakers, GOP entities, Trump allies and media outlets as part of the probe. Smith has repeatedly stood by his work as special counsel, which eventually involved bringing two sets of criminal charges against Trump over the 2020 election and over alleged retention of classified documents. Smith dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Department of Justice policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents. Smith has already offered to publicly testify before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, but a source familiar with Jordan’s request said a deposition is the chairman’s preferred format because each party on the committee can question Smith for an hour at a time and build a better record. In a public hearing, lawmakers typically question a witness in five-minute intervals. Peter Koski, an attorney for Smith, told Fox News Digital that Smith had offered to voluntarily appear in a public hearing setting six weeks ago. “We are disappointed that offer was rejected, and that the American people will be denied the opportunity to hear directly from Jack on these topics,” Koski said, according to Fox News. “Jack looks forward to meeting with the committee later this month to discuss his work and clarify the various misconceptions about his investigation,” he added. CBS News noted: Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, accused Republicans and the Trump administration of mounting a “coordinated campaign to smear” Smith and his team for their investigation into Mr. Trump and his allies related to their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “Chairman Jordan has denied Special Counsel Jack Smith’s offer to speak publicly to the whole Congress and the whole country about his investigations into Donald Trump, instead demanding he comply with a subpoena for a closed-door, private session simply so Republicans can spin, distort, and cherry-pick his remarks through press leaks,” he said in a statement. “What are our colleagues so afraid of, that they won’t let the American people hear directly from the Special Counsel? Raskin, of Maryland, said Smith followed the proper legal principles, protocols and guidelines throughout his probe and took “careful investigative steps.”

The Justice Department announced it filed federal lawsuits against six states for “failure to produce their statewide voter registration lists upon request.” “Accurate voter rolls are the cornerstone of fair and free elections, and too many states have fallen into a pattern of noncompliance with basic voter roll maintenance,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The Department of Justice will continue filing proactive election integrity litigation until states comply with basic election safeguards,” she added. “Our federal elections laws ensure every American citizen may vote freely and fairly,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “States that continue to defy federal voting laws interfere with our mission of ensuring that Americans have accurate voter lists as they go to the polls, that every vote counts equally, and that all voters have confidence in election results. At this Department of Justice, we will not stand for this open defiance of federal civil rights laws,” she continued. The states sued include: Delaware Maryland New Mexico Rhode Island Vermont Washington DOJ sues six states for refusing to turn over voter registration rolls, warns ‘open defiance’ of federal law https://t.co/4YRirapTOt — Fox News (@FoxNews) December 3, 2025 Fox News shared: According to the DOJ, the agency formally requested each state’s current, statewide voter registration roll and did not receive the required records. In each lawsuit, the department argues that Congress gave the attorney general clear authority to demand the production, inspection and analysis of voter registration data to ensure compliance with federal law. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, said the department is escalating enforcement efforts ahead of the 2026 election cycle. “States that defy federal voting laws interfere with our mission of ensuring that Americans have accurate voter lists & that all voters have confidence in our elections. @CivilRights & @AGPamBondi will not stand for this open defiance of federal civil rights laws,” Dhillon wrote on X. States that defy federal voting laws interfere with our mission of ensuring that Americans have accurate voter lists & that all voters have confidence in our elections. @CivilRights & @AGPamBondi will not stand for this open defiance of federal civil rights laws.… — AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) December 2, 2025 The Hill noted: The legal challenges follow at least eight other lawsuits against different states for withholding voter information from the DOJ: California, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Despite pressure, state leaders say they are legally obligated to conceal documents with personally identifiable information such as voters’ names, birth dates, addresses and driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers. The New Mexico Secretary of State’s office said it provided the Justice Department with public voter data prior to the lawsuit, spokesperson Alex Curtas told The Associated Press. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs also supplied federal officials with publicly disclosable information but refused to provide additional information, arguing it would violate the Civil Rights Act.

President Trump announced on Truth Social that “any and all documents, proclamations, executive orders, memorandums, or contracts signed by Joe Biden’s autopen are “hereby null, void, and of no further force or effect.” “Anyone receiving ‘Pardons,’ ‘Commutations,’ or any other Legal Document so signed, please be advised that said Document has been fully and completely terminated, and is of no Legal effect,” he added. Fox News provided further info: Over 160 executive orders were signed during the Biden administration. Fox News Digital confirmed that the list of possibly voided pardons does not include former President Biden’s son Hunter, as that was signed by hand. The alleged autopen pardon list includes Dr. Anthony Fauci and brother James Biden. Former President Biden signed a pardon last year for Hunter Biden’s offenses that he “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024. Also on the list as part of a more than 1,500-person spree of pardons near the end of Biden’s term include Gen. Mark Milley and members and staff of the House committee investigating Jan. 6. "I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally." – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/D5mzIl1Cai — The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 28, 2025 “If Autopen Pardons are repealed then prosecute Fauci for crimes against humanity,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) commented. If Autopen Pardons are repealed then prosecute Fauci for crimes against humanity. — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) November 28, 2025 Newsweek shared: Before leaving office in January, Biden issued several pardons — including for family members he said he wanted to shield from politically motivated investigations — and commuted sentences for a number of nonviolent drug offenders. Trump, known for his criticism of political rivals, has repeatedly seized on Biden’s use of the autopen to sign official documents during his presidency. Trump has questioned Biden’s mental fitness and suggested that aides, rather than Biden himself, made key decisions. Biden and his former aides have rejected those claims, saying the president was fully engaged in governing. On Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he’s terminating all executive orders allegedly signed by Biden with an autopen, which the president said accounts for about 92 percent of the orders signed during Biden’s term. Legal analysts disputed the validity of Trump’s claims, with Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan under the Barack Obama administration, telling Newsweek that autopen signatures are valid and the signing method is irrelevant to executive order legitimacy.

President Trump shared a text message from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) regarding so-called Association Health Plans that “allow individuals to buy collectively health insurance via Costco, Amazon, or Sam’s Club.” “I know we have been at odds recently but in ur first term you signed an executive order to legalize Association Health Plans,” the text message read. “This collaboration brought us together and still holds the promise of lowering insurance premiums. It did not succeed because Dem AG’s fought it in court. We could pass it in Congress today, with ur help,” it continued. “It costs nothing and simply changes labor law to allow people to buy insurance as a group from retailers. Let me know if this is something you might want to partner on,” the message added. Full Text: Newsmax shared: Trump’s post comes soon after Republican Reps. Rick Allen of Georgia and Jodey Arrington of Texas announced their “Healthy Competition for Better Care Act,” which they say would promote “transparency in health care,” crack down on anti-competitive practices, and remove restrictions that prevent competition in health care markets. Echoing Paul’s concerns, the Allen-Arrington bill argues that increased competition in the health insurance industry is necessary to restore “access to quality care” for Americans. “Americans are paying too much for too little health care,” Arrington said in a statement. “This bipartisan legislation puts hardworking families first, ensures fair competition, and puts patients, not bureaucrats, back in charge of their health care.” “Joined @BloombergTV to discuss my healthcare plan: HSAs for all, buying insurance across state lines, and real negotiating power for millions of Americans through places like Costco, Amazon, and Sam’s Club,” Paul said. “President Trump and I worked on this before, and I’m ready to work with him again to fix our broken system,” he added. Joined @BloombergTV to discuss my healthcare plan: HSAs for all, buying insurance across state lines, and real negotiating power for millions of Americans through places like Costco, Amazon, and Sam’s Club. President Trump and I worked on this before, and I’m ready to work with… pic.twitter.com/MNqAmClkxy — Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 3, 2025 Paul wrote in an op-ed for Newsweek: Obamacare costs the taxpayers billions of dollars and costs every individual thousands of dollars a year in increased premiums. As conservatives, including myself, warned in the debate over Obamacare, subsidizing insurance simply increases demand and therefore increases the price of health insurance. Where once there existed the choice of a higher deductible plan with lower premiums, now Obamacare plans offer high deductibles and high premiums. Any semblance of a functioning individual health insurance market has been eliminated, as government health insurance or employers are the only real source of coverage for nearly all Americans. My health care plan, called the Health Marketplace and Savings Accounts For All Act, which I will introduce this week, does two things and costs the taxpayers nothing. First, my plan legalizes the ability for any group to purchase insurance collectively and operate across state lines. My plan would make it legal for Costco, Sam’s Club, or Amazon to bargain for their millions of members as a single entity, thereby driving prices down. These collectives could be bigger than any corporation in America and have the size and leverage to drive health premiums down. In fact, once these co-ops are legalized, the individual market likely melts away, and everyone in America would gain the benefits that normally accrue to the group market. My plan is the only plan being offered that would drive prices down. All other plans, such as the Democrat plan to continue the add-on subsidies to the original Obamacare subsidies, will continue to drive up health insurance premiums. All Republican variations of these plans only vary in their cost to the taxpayer. Some in the GOP want to simply give the fully expanded Obamacare subsidies to individuals’ Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Which, in reality, will be a distinction without a difference. It will cost the taxpayers the same amount and simply serve as a pit stop for the money before it inevitably flows to the insurance companies. Other compliant Republicans are offering variations on this theme. Some in the GOP want to give the Obamacare subsidies (minus the pandemic add-on) to individuals’ HSAs. This plan will do nothing to lower insurance premiums and puts its Republican supporters on the record as supporting Obamacare subsidies.

President Trump announced on Wednesday that he would give a full and unconditional pardon to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife. The Texas Democrat and his wife, Imelda, were indicted last year for allegedly accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes and laundering the funds. “For years, the Biden Administration weaponized the Justice System against their Political Opponents, and anyone who disagreed with them. One of the clearest examples of this was when Crooked Joe used the FBI and DOJ to ‘take out’ a member of his own Party after Highly Respected Congressman Henry Cuellar bravely spoke out against Open Borders, and the Biden Border ‘Catastrophe,'” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Sleepy Joe went after the Congressman, and even the Congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda, simply for speaking the TRUTH. It is unAmerican and, as I previously stated, the Radical Left Democrats are a complete and total threat to Democracy! They will attack, rob, lie, cheat, destroy, and decimate anyone who dares to oppose their Far Left Agenda, an Agenda that, if left unchecked, will obliterate our magnificent Country,” Trump continued. “Because of these facts, and others, I am hereby announcing my full and unconditional PARDON of beloved Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar, and Imelda. Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” he added. The Hill has more: Trump shared a letter he received last month from Cuellar’s daughters in which they requested a pardon for their parents. In the letter, Christinia and Catherine Cuellar suggested Cuellar’s “independence and honesty” may have contributed to the investigation into his conduct. “With all our hearts, we humbly ask that you show mercy and compassion to our parents — either by dismissing this case or granting a full and unconditional pardon,” the two daughters wrote in a Nov. 12 letter. The Justice Department in March 2024 indicted the Cuellars on 14 counts. The indictment outlined payments Henry Cuellar allegedly accepted from an oil company owned by the Azerbaijan government and a Mexican bank. A judge in August dismissed two of the 14 counts in the case at the request of federal prosecutors and set a trial for next year. “I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts. I thank God for standing with my family and I during this difficult time. This decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas,” Cuellar said. “This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on. Thank you Mr. President, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America,” he added. I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts. I thank God for standing with my family and I during this difficult time. This decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas. This pardon gives us a… pic.twitter.com/ajNvHq6rG0 — Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) December 3, 2025 CBS News noted: Cuellar’s daughters also appeared to reference Mr. Trump’s own criminal cases, which they called his “challenges.” They said they prayed for the president and his family “because we know that behind the headlines, there are real people who hurt, who love and who still hope for better days.” Mr. Trump faced federal charges in two cases brought by former special counsel Jack Smith, though both ended after he won the presidency last year. A state prosecution in Georgia related to the 2020 election was also dismissed last week. The president was convicted on 34 felony counts in New York in June 2024 and has appealed the conviction. In last year’s indictment against the Cuellars, federal prosecutors accused them of accepting at least $598,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company owned by the government of Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank. They alleged that the bribes were laundered in the form of sham consulting contracts through front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar. The congressman’s wife, according to the indictment, “performed little or no legitimate” work under the consulting contracts.