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Trump Administration Officials Respond to Local Actions, Lawsuits, and International Claims
The Trump administration addressed several issues ranging from domestic policy concerns regarding immigration enforcement to international claims about agreements with Russia, while former President Trump faced legal challenges regarding tax information leaks.
In the United States, the Trump administration criticized local Democratic leadership in Arlington County, Virginia, after officials advised residents to call 911 to report sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. According to Fox News, the administration characterized this action as reckless, linking such policies to riots and violent arrests. Arlington County Board of Supervisors chairman Matt de Ferranti, a Democrat, stated that reporting ICE presence would help local officials know of ICE's presence and help "pursue Arlington County's law enforcement mission: preventing viol".
Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, the administration suggested a potential reduction of federal forces if local officials cooperated with immigration enforcement efforts. White House border tsar Tom Homan stated at a news conference on Thursday that he wants "common sense co-operation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here." Homan added, "We are not surrendering our mission at all. We're just doing it smarter," according to BBC World. This announcement followed the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota, which ignited local protests.
In legal news, Donald Trump and his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., filed a billion-dollar lawsuit against the U.S. federal government, specifically targeting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department. The civil complaint, filed in Miami federal court, seeks $10 billion (7.25bn) in damages for the alleged leaks of their business and personal tax returns. According to Reuters, the Trump family accuses the IRS and Treasury Department of failing to prevent the disclosure of "confidential, personal financial information" by a former IRS contractor, Charles "Chaz" Littlejohn, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.
Internationally, Trump claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed not to attack Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, for a week due to extremely cold weather. BBC World reported that Trump stated Putin agreed to the pause because of the "extraordinary cold." Temperatures in Kyiv were expected to drop to -24C (-11F) over the next few days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly welcomed the move, although Russia has not confirmed any such agreement. Air raid alerts were only triggered in four Ukrainian regions close to the frontline overnight into Friday.
Separately, in New York, a man was arrested for allegedly impersonating an FBI agent in an attempt to free Luigi Mangione, who is accused of fatally shooting the CEO of United Healthcare in 2024. According to BBC World, Mark Anderson, 36, allegedly went to the New York jail where Mangione is held and claimed to have paperwork "signed by a judge" to release him. Anderson appeared before a judge on Thursday but has not yet entered a plea.
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