President Trump officially signs the Iran Memorandum of Understanding, while in Versailles, after wrapping up the G7 summit.

Good evening. Tonight on Capitol Report, President Trump wrapping up the G7 summit as the White House reveals the full text of the Iran deal, what's in the memorandum, and how world leaders are welcoming it. A very strong statement that they will never have a nuclear weapon, and it doesn't say they'll have one in five years or ten years or twenty years. Trump pulls the plug on his DNI confirmation hearing and ties FISA reauthorization to the $1.2 million, a former SPLC official in a relationship with a paid informant and a federal indictment. The questions it raises about how the SPLC ran its entire informant operation. This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. I'm Jack Bradley for Steve Lance tonight. President Trump wrapping up the G7 summit in Evian, France by laying out terms of the Iran deal. And as oil prices plummet, the president telling NTD how the Iran agreement could affect the U.S. economy in the long term. We can now go live to NTD's White House correspondent Mari Otsu in Geneva. Mari, good evening. You were at the G7 presser in Evian. What did President Trump tell you? Hey, Jack. Good evening to you. That's right. And President Trump is actually right now ending his France trip with a dinner at the Palace of Versailles hosted there by French President Emmanuel Macron. And some breaking news there. The White House confirming just moments ago that President Trump actually signed a copy of that U.S.-Iran memorandum while there at dinner in Versailles. And prior to this, Vice President J.D. Vance was expected to be present at a signing ceremony in Lucerne, Switzerland, this Friday. It remains to be seen if that's still on the table after President Trump just signed this moments ago. So we'll keep you updated there. But, Jack, as you said, at that final presser at the G7, wrapping up there, President Trump is touting the Iran agreement, saying that it achieves everything that the U.S. has set out to achieve there, namely that Iran can never possess or develop a nuclear weapon. The president also telling NTD, as oil prices have been plummeting in the wake of the announcement of the completion of this deal, how it will affect the U.S.'s economy in the long term. Take a look. Thank you, President Trump. Oil prices are now plummeting. How do you see this agreement further affecting energy prices in the U.S. and the U.S. economy in the long term? Well, first of all, thank you for the word plummeting, because that's what's happening. Oil prices are plummeting. And that means oil prices are going to come down. We have to put out this fire in Iran because I don't want them using a nuclear weapon. Now that the oil is coming down, you're going to see everything follow. Everything follows the cost of energy. And we're going to end up having the lowest energy anywhere in the world. Now, Jack, this is coming as U.S. officials have released to us the full text of that memorandum of understanding. Some key details include, of course, Iran affirming that they will never possess or create develop a nuclear weapon. Also an immediate ceasefire, including the war stopping immediately on every front, including in Lebanon. And then as for that, a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, the U.S. agrees to take that away to remove that blockade in the next 30 days. And in return, Iran will use its best means to ensure that commercial shipping will be free, toll free through the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump, however, during this press conference, was really emphasizing there that this memorandum of understanding is not binding, meaning that if Iran violates any of these terms that are laid out, then bombing will resume. Take a look. When I say permanently, it should be permanently. But if it's not permanently, we will bomb them. They will be bombed just like I bombed them on Wednesday night and Tuesday night and was going to bomb them on Thursday night at a level that was three times greater. And they knew that I will bomb them. And if I don't like it, we'll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs in their head. If I don't like it, if they don't behave, we'll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head. OK, because they misbehaved for 47 years. The U.S. officials also clarifying there that the MOU will kick off a 60 day period for both countries to further negotiate a final deal, which could mean eventually easing all sanctions on the Iranian regime. Now, though, both officials and President Trump have been emphasizing that there won't be any funds coming from the U.S. or the U.S. Treasury, but that the Treasury could over time unfreeze some of the Iranian regime's assets that they froze during Operation Epic Theory if they hold up to their commitments. Take a look. We're not putting up money. Only if they're doing things right, if they're doing things right, if people want to invest, they can invest. And remember this also, when you talk about billions of dollars, they've had much more than a trillion dollars worth of damage done. Meanwhile, Jack, both G7 leaders and Middle East leaders are praising the deal as a breakthrough. G7 leaders releasing this statement on geopolitical issues this morning, saying, quote, we recognize the breakthrough and the opportunity that currently exists in the Middle East with this deal and Middle East leaders in bilateral meetings with the president touting the ties between their countries and the U.S., especially their teamwork during Operation Epic Theory. Take a look. I want to thank you for your leadership in this very, very important and critical time in the Middle East. And I think, as you mentioned, Mr. President, this is a very important deal. I have to say it's exceeded my expectations. We're very pleased with the deal that's been struck. It sets the groundwork to ensure Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon. The president helped create that deal, led creating that deal. I would like to start by expressing big congratulations for the breakthrough that you have achieved, Mr. President, of restoring peace with the Middle East. President Trump, meanwhile, ending his statements, saying that a great deal of unity was found between himself and other G7 leaders at the summit. They're listing some other G7 accomplishments, including signing an inaugural declaration against illegal immigration and spending a lot of time with other leaders coordinating stopping drug trafficking. Jack, back to you. A historic deal indeed, Mari. Thank you so much. President Trump says that the new agreement with Iran achieves everything we set out to accomplish to discuss. We welcome live Andrew Harding, national security analyst with the Heritage Foundation. Andrew, thanks so much for joining us tonight. I want to get right into a clip of President Trump today outlining what's in this memorandum with Iran. Number one, the strait opens, but that's much less important than the other clause. Clause number whatever, 5, 8, is a very strong statement that they will never have a nuclear weapon. And it doesn't say they'll have one in five years or 10 years or 20 years. With Obama, they were able to enrich very quickly. Andrew, how does this deal put us in a fundamentally different place than the Iran nuclear deal that we had under President Obama? Well, first, it's good to see you, Jack. I think what this does differently is ensure, as the president just said, that this is not going to be a deal in which Iran can have a sunset clause in which in a handful or a certain number of years, it'll be able to go back. I think it's never changed. Instead, the president is ensuring that Iran is going to not procure or develop a nuclear weapon. That's important. And that ensures that Iran is going to not become that threat that has been the primary political objective that President Trump has had of this operation. But it ensures that there will be a better sense of stability in the Middle East. This has been the primary threat to American national security interest in the region and certainly to Israel as well. So by having Iran agree to this, this would be very different and it's permanent. There's no caveats. There's no different sense of timelines where this expires. And as the president also made clear, if Iran shows it's going to try to get around the terms of the deal, then bombing and military operations can continue. So this ensures that there's no trust for the regime, but rather there's a focus on verification. And that's a very good step. And built into this memorandum, it provides Iran with a path to rebuild its infrastructure contingent upon their cooperation on their end of the deal. Here's another soundbite from the president. Now the president mentioned that we're monitoring Iran's nuclear dust from space and we'll know if they try to touch it. What else do you think that we'll need to do to make sure that Iran doesn't misbehave? Well, the first thing that's been done is the president has shown he's willing to enforce peace through strength. And that's a key difference here as well from what we've seen in the past, in which the president's been willing to use military force in order to ensure Iran knows America is serious. When Iran was first offered diplomacy months ago and they rejected, the president responded not by saying we need more time or let's work to your conditions. Instead, he authorized Operation Epic Fury. We've also seen economic fury in which the president has enforced a blockade and show that there's a sanctioned regime, that the ultimate goal is to put as much pressure on Iran to come to a deal that is favorable to U.S. interests that both countries can ultimately agree to. So I think that is what the president has been pushing for here in this to ensure that there is a difference here. Right. And getting to this point of where Iran has been, it's been a multilayered effort and it's a culminating in Operation Epic Fury. But even before that, President Trump spoke about each step that went into it. Take a look. We didn't blow him up the first time and then blow out those weapons. They would have been unstoppable. This should have been what I'm doing and what I did should have been done years ago. So obviously the breakthrough would not have been possible without the unprecedented pressure the United States put on the regime over the past year and a half. But again, it started a long time ago. It started with the death of Soleimani. That was a big deal. Andrew, how has this been a comprehensive effort that we've seen the president systematically work towards? Well, this has been an extremely comprehensive effort. Certainly, obviously, we know about the start of Operation Epic Fury come February. But for weeks and months before, there's diplomatic efforts, of course, not only direct negotiations or talks with Iran, but also working with Israel and our partners in order to protect national interests and provide a sense of greater stability in the region. So throughout the months, we've seen the United States work very closely with Israel, get excellent results in the military campaign, but also work to provide defenses for Gulf partners that have been targets of Iranian attacks. Iran made the boneheaded decision to try to attack its neighbors, the idea probably being to put pressure on them to make the U.S. stop, but it backfired in which both countries became far more resolute in their understanding of Iran as a threat. And as a result, I've been willing to work with President Trump to call on Iran to cease its activities and ultimately, as we've seen over the past few days at the G7, be supportive of the deal and be involved in a regional collaborative effort to understand the MOU terms and to be able to help enforce it. So I think we've seen how comprehensive this has been across the military domain and economic domain and diplomatic domain combined. That's peace through strength and action and delivering results. Absolutely. We've seen the U.S. military in action as it currently stands. We've also seen how a regime like Iran reacts to that by bombing their neighbors. To put pressure to see the lengths that they'll go. Now, the president also expressed his vision that reducing the threat from Iran can realign the entire Middle East. Here's a clip of that. As I expressed to the world leaders here this week, it's my hope that the peace agreement will be the beginning of a much larger deal all across the Middle East. We're very close. Look at the job we've done in Gaza. Look at Hamas. Hamas has been very silent. The Lebanon peace is something we'll have to work on a little bit. It's a very small piece of the puzzle, actually, but it still makes a lot of noise. Andrew, what are the next realistic steps in this broader plan? Well, first, we need to see in the next coming days and weeks and even months what the 60 day negotiation period looks like for some of the more technical details related to perhaps getting any nuclear enrichment material out of Iran. What it looks like for rolling back sanctions, the blockade. There's going to be a lot of technical work to be done. So we've got the good framework, the MOU in motion here, and now it's going to really come to see what we can do in the next two months or so to really get everything done for the long term. Secondly, this looks like coordinating with U.S. allies and partners in the region. It'll be very important to understand where any private investments come in to ensure that both countries feel like they can get their exports out of the Strait of Hormuz and see if there's any roles for the G7 or other aligned countries and partners to ensure that there can be greater long term stability with multiple countries involved. But third, we also think about the Abraham Accords. And I think the president has done an excellent job with that in his first term, getting this monumental deal over the line with Israel, normalizing relations with other Arab countries. It would be excellent to see if there would be more countries willing to do this. Israel has proven its ability to be a capable partner in the region, show that it's willing to defend itself or push back against Iranian terror proxies and the regime. So I think there could be some opportunities on a security and economic front for other countries to have a greater sense of stability that is long lasting in the Middle East. President Trump has proven he can do the impossible, and hopefully we can see some more optimism, not just with this Iran deal, but also beyond. The order of power has definitely realigned in the Middle East in recent months. Andrew Harding, thank you so much for joining us. Always great to talk to you. And you're looking at a live shot of the U.S. Capitol. A federal indictment against the SPLC, Southern Poverty Law Center, describes a trail of money, joint bank accounts and a hidden informant network. More from former prosecutor Jim Trustee, former federal prosecutor, and that'll be just after this break. Stay tuned. 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Welcome back. I'm Jack Bradley. A former top Southern Poverty Law Center official is accused of funneling $1.2 million in donor money. Based on that information, from a federal indictment, she sent the money to a member of a neo-Nazi group, who she was in a relationship with, allegedly. Now to discuss, we're joined live by former federal prosecutor Jim Trustee. Jim, thanks so much for joining us here tonight. This indictment, it alleges that the former director of the SPLC's intelligence project and her alleged lover had a joint bank account of which they received $140,000. Does this look incriminating for the SPLC and how it ran its informant program? Yeah, I think even saying they ran the program, Jack, feels like an overstatement. It's like the program ran the SPLC. Look, this is the director of intelligence for SPLC. That means she's the one that's running this privatized informant program. And this superseding indictment, these new allegations that came out in support of the original indictment, is just really damning. I mean, it's hard enough to run an informant program when you have policies and professional law enforcement in place where you can sanction or punish people for screwing up as informants. But in this case, the director allegedly gave $1.4 million to her love interest, of which a big chunk of that shows back up in their joint checking account. And aside from kind of the mismanagement of profiting directly from your assignment of an informant, they're keeping these hate organizations afloat. And that's the big theme of this new indictment, is to say, look, these are groups like the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi group, that was dwindling dramatically in the early 2000s. It went from 1,400 members to 20. But then the Southern Poverty Law Center pumps in both informants and money to let them do things like buy sheets for Ku Klux Klan meetings or travel to Charlottesville for hate rallies. And so it really is trying to put together a picture of complete malfeasance by a group supposedly fighting the very hate groups that it's funding. And these are some damning allegations that we're having here. The indictment here also alleges that one informant was using donor funds to hold rallies and donate to other extremist organizations and recruit new members. Jim, what's the line here between using informants to collect information and orchestrating extremism? Yeah, it's a great question. Well, first of all, nobody in the world of nonprofits or political entities like the SPLC should be in the business of privatizing law enforcement, of running an informant program. It's a very dangerous business. There's a lot of questions that are very thorny for law enforcement. If you put an informant in a hate group, what is that informant to do when they're aware of a pending crime? Are they being asked to participate in crime? What happens if they break their rules of being an informant? There's just so many challenges, even for the FBI or for HSI or DEA, that some private entity shouldn't be doing it. But look, this indictment is spelling out a very damning picture where not only were they funding informants, but they were keeping hate entities afloat with the amount of money they were pouring in with very little oversight. So again, keep in mind, it's an indictment of an entity. It's not a private indictment of citizens at this point. But that's going to be the interesting thing to watch, I think, Jack, is does this ever evolve where there's actual members of the SPLC that are indicted that face the potential for jail time? Right now, it is a corporate prosecution, meaning the most that can happen is either forfeiture, fines, or perhaps some sort of injunction. Nobody goes to jail on this indictment, but the story certainly got a lot worse. And as far as this whole indictment thing goes, you know, the damage has been done. A lot of these extremist groups were looped together with more moderate conservative groups, and so this organization had been cited as the source for damning these organizations that are more moderate conservative organizations. But the SPLC was partnered with federal agencies for many years, and they even received federal grants. What can be done to ensure that private organizations are held to account for misusing funds and preventing similar actions in the future? Yeah, I mean, transparency and indictments are obviously a big part of that, but there's also, you know, revoking their status as being a tax-exempt organization. What's happened over the years is the Southern Poverty Law Center probably had pretty good origins. You know, they started off suing the KKK, defending people in civil rights actions that needed help, and at the end of the day, they've become a very political organization that condemned people like Ben Carson for being extremist. They've called Charlie Kirk an extremist. They've become a political wing of the Democratic Party, so they really deserve the scrutiny they're getting right now, and hopefully it'll affect not just donors and their reputation and their original moral authority, but their ability to continue doing things like this in the future. So hopefully there's some deterrence for other like-minded entities. I think it was a pretty unusual arrangement that they were comfortable wading into the informant space, and it's blown up on their face as a complete disaster. Absolutely, and I want to pivot now to the Midwest. Federal prosecutors there have charged 15 individuals for political violence in operation to federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis earlier this year. Here's the special agent in charge there describing the investigation. Working closely with the U.S. Attorney's Office, our investigation uncovered extensive planning, material support, and coordinated attacks against federal personnel and facilities. Our teams have worked tirelessly conducting surveillance, reviewing camera footage, and analyzing large volumes of information to identify those responsible. Now there's a significant degree of coordination and planning that goes into this. Are these networks using lawful protests to conceal acts of terrorism? I would say barely. You know, they actually denounce lawful protests. They say that people that are trying to pursue social justice through peaceful means are failures. And so everything that we're seeing from this indictment suggests that they're way past the line of free speech. You know, free speech ends where criminal activity begins. And these are folks that elicit violence, that solicit people to take part in violence against ICE, that did things like ram undercover vehicles from ICE on the highway. I mean, it is a violent-based organization with numerous assaults and destruction of property, government property, and solicitation to commit violence wrapped into it. What I think becomes interesting, Jack, is there's a smattering of different charges that deal with either impeding or obstructing federal agents, assaulting them, inspiring to do so. Those are all fine. I'd like to see it graduate to RICO. I think you could use at least the obstruction part as what they call a predicate crime for a RICO where you tell a much broader story. And you could wrap in all these kind of anarchist groups and Antifa groups into RICO indictments and really set a tone both for the seriousness of the prosecution and for other districts to continue using RICO as well. Now, authorities mentioned that there was an intention to commit violence, but also material support. Where does this funding for this kind of activity come from, and how can they be held accountable? Yeah, it's a great question. And I would hope that in an indictment that's fairly complex like this one, where they're bringing together these kind of contributing anarchist groups to Antifa, that they're looking long and hard at the material support. Where's the money coming from? Is there a George Soros-type figure, not necessarily Soros, but somebody who believes that violence against ICE is justified and who's funding things? They do have interstate stalking charges as part of the panoply of offenses here. And that suggests that they are looking into how people travel to be a part of violent protests. And I think that's a good sign. There's probably a lot more underneath the surface of this lake that the federal prosecutors are looking at to see if they can get to the higher reaches, not just the folks out on the streets acting like violent idiots. Yeah, useful idiots indeed. Jim Trustee, thank you so much for sharing your time and insights with us. Always appreciated. A new report sheds lights on how migrant rape gangs allegedly groomed and victimized thousands of young girls across the U.K., with authorities accused of turning a blind eye for years due to political correctness. National correspondent for The Daily Signal, Tony Kennett, joins Tiffany Meyer tonight to break down this disturbing scandal and what it means for America. That's coming up tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on Tiffany Meyer Tonight. And you're looking at a live shot of the U.S. Capitol. President Trump is standing firm on the Save America Act, going as far as to cancel a DNI confirmation hearing as leverage. More on the president's strategy from our panel after the break. You see certain things get reincarnated in your children. My daughter is very much inspired by my wife's artistic pursuits. So my daughter started making necklaces. She makes what we call affirmation fashion. I tell her every day that you're black is beautiful. You're black is beautiful. And if there's anything better than being beautiful, it's being smart. If there's anything better than being smart, it's being kind. And reaffirming that every day is our method of making sure her chin never drops. My dad wasn't around. And I remember riding a bike and falling off and cutting myself, and me never just wanting to get back on it. People ask, how did your children learn how to ride a bike? And you did. I didn't teach them. I just created an environment where they taught themselves, and all I had to do was be there. We come from a long line of farmers, and there's a sense of pride in being part of these multigenerational businesses. But there's also a significant amount of pressure. My senior year of high school, my dad made the decision that this world no longer needed him in it. I don't know if he was overwhelmed by the bills and checks that weren't going to be coming in because of the strawberries dying off, but it breaks my heart that my dad made a permanent decision for a temporary issue. Don't feel like you have to go through it alone. Farmers have to take care of their physical and their mental health, because what's a farm without a farmer? The mornings, that's my time. Watching the sun come up, I can have a cup of coffee and exercise if I want to. It helps me start the day with a sense of gratitude. Every day is a new opportunity. Don't forget to check in on yourself. Love, your mind. Welcome back. I'm Jack Bradley. President Trump is putting his foot down, now refusing to approve FISA if it doesn't include the Save America Act. He's also incorporating the Director of National Intelligence into his strategy. Joining me now to discuss is Democratic strategist Alex Berrios and Republican strategist Brian Maloney. Thank you both very much for joining us here tonight. Now, the battle over FISA renewal continues, with President Trump now postponing the hearing to approve Jay Clayton as DNI. He's also demanding the attachment of the Save America Act as part of his strategy, saying this, quote, I will not approve FISA without the Save America Act going along with it. Not complicated, actually. The Republicans fell into a trap. Alex, Democrats and some Republicans cited Trump acting, his acting DNI pick, Bill Pulte, as reason for not voting for the extension of FISA. How does this new move change their calculus? I think that the Democratic Party has to understand that Donald Trump is still the center of gravity within the Republican Party, still has a tremendous amount of influence, and that he has the ability to bring the Congress to a halt if he sends out a tweet controversial or makes a demand. And Brian, Trump wants to pass the Save America Act in addition to getting FISA renewed. What do you make of the president's strategy here, and will that work? Well, look, this is born out of the president's immense frustration with his inability to really get what he wants from a Republican-led Congress, especially with Senator Hoon, who is constantly a thorn in Trump's side, which Trump should have never backed in the first place. But there's a second component that I think adds to Trump's frustration, and that is in all of these particular negotiations that you cite here, Republicans ended up being outmaneuvered and essentially tricked by Democrats, which I think is their own fault for falling for it. I don't even blame the Democrats here. I mean, clearly, the Republicans blew it. And Alex, as for the Save America Act, do you see there's a path forward for Democrats to agree on an aspect of this, like voter ID? I think that voter ID is going to continue to be something that they fight hard for. The Democratic Party needs to do their best to be as bipartisan as possible and look for solutions to problems facing America right now. And Brian, as for the Save America Act, why is it so important for confidence in our democracy, like President Trump is saying? Well, I think one part to address here is how Senate Republicans can be so out of touch with the American people, where we see poll after poll showing this majority approval of the American people by far. And yet we have this kind of rhino country club Republican kind of person in the Senate. We've got a bunch of them. And, you know, they seem to think that supporting this is going to hurt us in November. No, it's going to be the opposite, because if we prevent or even reduce or deter fraudulent voting, the results are going to be much better. So it just shows how unbelievably out of touch Republicans on Capitol Hill have become with the American people. Let's go now to the race in Georgia. The Republican primaries saw a split decision between Trump-endorsed Congressman Mike Collins for the Senate and the independent, self-funded Rick Jackson being nominated for governor. Here's Rick Jackson celebrating that decision here. I'm the only candidate who doesn't owe a thing to the political establishment. I don't care what special interests want, how much they beg, how much they give me. I can't be bought, and I won't back down. Tonight, you made your voice heard loud and clear. Alex, Georgia's gubernatorial nominee there didn't receive Trump's nomination, but is still adamant about working with the president. What are Georgia voters signaling here, if anything, by that? Georgia voters are looking for change. I think that a lot of Americans are looking for change right now. They're looking for solutions to kitchen table problems, and people are concerned. They feel like government's not working for them, and they're looking for new voices and new leaders to find solutions. And, Brian, your thoughts on this? And in the Senate race, we also have John Ossoff framing himself as a moderate, but he also has a voting record in line with President Biden's policies. Do you think that will work in Mike Collins' advantage? Well, so there's a lot to unpack here, but essentially what's very, very interesting is, on the one hand, we're told that Brian Kemp is this incredibly popular Georgia governor, right, as a Republican, and yet his endorsement carried no weight whatsoever. And Jackson is correct in saying he'll owe nothing to anybody because he wasn't supported by either Trump or Kemp. That's interesting. Jackson's base, his support base, was different than what you might have expected. He really pulled in Republicans from suburban areas and that, whatever, minority of Republicans that exist in a place like Colton County or whatever. There can't be many Republicans there, but apparently there are three or four, and they supported him. So it's going to be really, really interesting to see. But, you know, we have another election here where Georgia is going to be the center of everything. And, you know, we had this in 2020. We've had this a bunch of times where Georgia, you know, and this idea that Georgia is some kind of purple state or even blue state, which is really nonsense. And the Democrats are essentially hoping that they've imported enough Californians into Georgia to turn the tide in their favor. And, you know, I just don't think that's happened. And I want to now get to D.C. We also had a Democratic Party had a primary in Washington, D.C.'s mayoral race here. A Democratic socialist candidate is currently leading with the vote count. This is part of a wider trend among Democratic voters. Seen it in New York. Alex, it seems that in many local congressional races, Democratic candidates are moving further towards socialism. Do you think that this could scare away voters in the long run? You know, that's a real concern that the party is going to have to wrestle with. Right now, the party seems to be spending as much time trying to find its own identity internally as it is trying to reach across the aisle to make their case to swayable and swing voters that don't necessarily see themselves in the party anymore. And they need to solve this. Again, we're seeing more and more voters. We talk to people every single day and we're seeing more and more people that are just fed up with who has the letter next to their name. And they don't quite have the ability to put their finger on what is causing the problems, but they know that the price of everything is going up. They spend more money for less food, more money for less gas, and they're not hearing answers. And so when someone comes with something new, they think, hey, that's new. It's got to be better than what's not working for me now. Yeah, part of the reason why the other party does well in Congress from the current executive branch, but during the midterms usually. But Brian, as the Democratic Party moves further to the left here towards socialism, what should the broader Republican and conservative response be to all that? Well, I think it's about calling attention to the fact that the Democrat Socialists of America, the DSA, is essentially taking over the Democrat Party. And we're seeing that what we have now in this D.C. mayoral election really does have national implications because she is the ma'am Donnie of Washington, D.C. And if this holds up and she holds over 50 percent, which it looks I think she probably will from what I'm seeing, then the rank choice voting fiasco won't come into effect and she will be elected outright. I mean, that's the bottom line here. I mean, you still have, I guess, the November general election, but there isn't even a Republican on the ballot. She's essentially elected to the year. And this is a huge, huge issue. So if I were Republican, I'd be calling attention to it. And if Republicans hang on to Congress in November, this is going to be the reason why. However, I don't have a lot of confidence in the Republican leadership to call attention to this or call this out because they're pretty inept at the top level of the RNC. I mean, they really do not know up from down. And so it's up to the grassroots to go out there and point to these things and call this out. All right. Brian Maloney, Alex Berrios, thank you so much for sharing your time and insights with us today. And just now we're hearing word on the Pakistani prime minister saying that the Iran has just signed on to the memorandum of understanding. Now, for that vote in D.C., residents yesterday casting their ballots for the first time using rank choice voting. Now, that's a system that allows voters to use ranking candidates in order of preference. How are everyday Americans viewing these developments? NTD Sam Wong was out on the National Mall in D.C. to hear from the people. What do you make of rank choice voting? This is relatively new to D.C., but it's happening in multiple states like Alaska, Maine. What do you think about it? I just think they don't need to drag out voting. They need to count them and don't take months or more than a week or two. Especially the more stuff they put into it, make it more complicated, it's harder to understand. That just clouds the issues. There is some controversy. I see both sides of that, honestly. Kind of like who gets the most votes, and then it's just first, second, third, fourth place, regardless of party. I guess I'm open. In Florida, they count votes within 24 hours. You need to have two or three candidates, and the one who gets the most votes wins. Done. That's it. That's all. I just don't agree with it. I think the majority should rule, and it should be done quickly and legally. One of D.C.'s mayoral candidates this year happens to be a socialist. What do you think about this trend? Do you think this reflects where the Democratic Party is going? What do you think? It's gone to the toilet. These people have lost their minds. We fought wars to fight communism and socialism. It's never worked anywhere in the world. I think that's where they're headed, and I really do. That's why I'm a Republican. I'm a flight attendant, and I take a lot of Ubers, and every Uber driver I talk to is conservative, and a lot of them have come from other countries. Cuba, they say, we came here to escape that, and why would we want that? And I said, yeah, well, send some of these people to Cuba for a year. He goes, a year? No, how about like a month? I think people are just uninformed as to what it really means. I think it just means everyone is equally poor. I'm not necessarily a Democrat. I'm not necessarily a Republican. I'm what's best for me and my family. Socialism is not best for me or my family, and surely isn't best for the country. If the Democrats go further with that, that's just going to cause them more and more problems. And you're looking at a live shot of the White House. NATO Chief Mark Rutte says President Trump's Iran deal is creating a safer environment for all nations. More on what's in store for NATO this week as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War, that is, heads to Europe after the break. I'm Jonathan Lawson. If you're 50 to 85, please listen closely. The lock I want to talk to you about isn't the one on your door. It's a rate lock for your life insurance that guarantees that once you're insured, your rate can never go up at any time for any reason. Many policies you see don't have one, but you can get a lifetime rate lock from Colonial Pen. This plan was designed for people on a fixed income with coverage options that start at $9.95 a month. That's less than 35 cents a day. Your rate is locked in for life. Coverage can never be canceled and your acceptance is guaranteed. 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Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is heading to Europe for a meeting of NATO defense ministers. NTD's international correspondent Ariane Pasdar has this story. The deal President Trump struck has created an opportunity to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon. NATO defense ministers are gathering in Brussels on Wednesday. Secretary General Mark Rutte praising President Trump for the deal he struck with Iran. The U.S. action to prevent the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and degrade its ballistic missile capability improves security for us all. The Department of War showing Secretary Pete Hegseth leaving the U.S. and then arriving in Brussels to join the meeting of defense ministers. Rutte says one of the topics the nations are scheduled to address is an issue President Trump has been raising for a long time. Investing 5% of GDP in defense by 2035. That's what we agreed. So I expect nations to present clear, concrete and credible plans to reach that goal. Rutte says reaching that goal is crucial for a stronger NATO that includes more troops, more resources and a much stronger industrial base. According to Rutte, European nations and Canada have already been increasing their defense spending after the commitment was made in The Hague last year. This week's talks mark the last meeting before the 2026 NATO summit, which is set to be held in Turkey next month. President Trump, meanwhile, giving an update on the Russia-Ukraine peace efforts during a speech at the G7 summit in France. The President says he spoke with the leaders of both Russia and Ukraine this week. I think they both want to do something. They just don't know how to do it. They want to do it, they just don't know how. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he and President Trump had another conversation on Wednesday night. Zelensky calls it, quote, an important coordination call that can bring about significant change. The developments come as the fighting between the two sides keep raging on. Ukrainian officials say Russia attacked the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least one civilian and setting a residential building on fire. According to Ukrainian police, a wave of Russian drones killed the person in his car. Senators from both parties are standing together, warning the public that the Chinese Communist Party is posing a growing risk to Americans, from financial scams to over-dependence on Chinese-made pharmaceuticals. Lawmakers on the Senate Special Committee on Aging today say that Beijing is building leverage over critical industries that directly affect senior citizens. For many critical medicines, China isn't just a major supplier, they're the only supplier. There is no domestic alternative standing by. If Beijing decides tomorrow to restrict drug imports, as it has explicitly threatened to do in the CCP's state media, American seniors will feel it in weeks. Our healthcare system is at grave risk, in no small part due to the exposure to China for key starting materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients for our generic pharmaceuticals. The Chinese Communist Party is engaged in a deliberate, systematic campaign to build new leverage and choke points across multiple domains. Older Americans hold a disproportionate share of the nation's wealth, carry the longest medical histories, and are the heaviest users of the health system, which means the financial, genomic, and clinical data Beijing prizes is, in large part, theirs. Chinese criminal networks operate industrial-scale scam centers that steal tens of billions of dollars annually. This is a massive criminal enterprise rivaling the global drug trade in scale and sophistication. Members of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission are warning of China's dominance over the pharmaceutical supply chain. Including ingredients used in many medications prescribed across the U.S., a cutoff or restriction from China could trigger shortages in the U.S. within weeks. They also highlighted a surge in online scams targeting seniors, citing Chinese-linked criminal networks operating scam compounds overseas stealing billions of dollars from Americans every year. On data security, the witnesses warn that health records, financial information, and location data can be collected through apps and devices, potentially giving Beijing access to sensitive information of millions of Americans. The panel urged greater transparency, domestic manufacturing incentives, and a unified approach to protect America's most vulnerable. Senators also working on human rights legislation, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approving the Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act. It's a bipartisan bill aimed at holding the Chinese Communist Party's officials accountable for forcibly harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience. The lead sponsor of the bill previously told NTD why it's imperative to combat the abuse. They literally capture practitioners of Falun Gong. They remove their organs and then they provide them either to transplant to other Chinese nationals, or they also find the organs on the black market to be trafficked overseas. It is a grotesque and utterly inhumane practice. And the Chinese Communist Party is an evil organization. And I think we need American leadership to stand up and shine a light to stop their espionage, to stop their propaganda, to stop their theft of intellectual property, to stop their murder, their torture. The center of this piece of legislation is Falun Gong or Falun Dafa. It's a spiritual practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Since 1999, the Chinese Communist Party has been persecuting the practice, forcing practitioners to renounce their faith through harassment, imprisonment, torture, and many times death. The bill would sanction perpetrators of the crime through visa invalidation, blocking them from entering the United States, and imposing criminal punishment of fines of up to $1 million and 20 years in prison. Senator Jeff Merkley told Sound of Hope that the bill has a good chance of passing the Senate and the hopes of bringing more awareness to the issue. Take a look. We held a hearing before the China Commission, and to hear the stories of folks who have witnessed what was going on, I hope we can really increase world awareness of this terrible practice. And for the bill to reach the president's desk, the next step is a full vote on the Senate floor before heading to the House of Representatives. And Missouri's attorney, his attorney general, is suing a Chinese security camera company, a major brand for baby monitors in the U.S. What's the case really about? Find out more tonight on China In Focus with Tiffany Meyer at 9.30 p.m. Eastern. And the Labor Department is threatening to withhold some of state funding if governors fail to take immediate action to address unemployment insurance fraud. And at the same time, Vice President J.D. Vance is giving an update on the administration's efforts to combat health care fraud in New York. NTD's Jason Perry has the details. The Department of Labor on Wednesday issuing letters to the governors of 53 U.S. states and territories, demanding immediate action to combat fraud, waste, and abuse within the unemployment insurance program, adding that if the states don't take action to protect the unemployment insurance system, then the Labor Department will, for the first time in history, withhold administrative funds from states. Labor Department Inspector General Anthony Despacito saying, quote, The days of excuses are over. States that fail to protect taxpayer dollars should expect consequences. The department also giving some details of what they call the most glaring examples, noting that Illinois improperly paid out more than $320 million in taxpayer funds. Illinois did not immediately comment on that accusation, and that California is more than $20 billion in debt to the federal government after years of fraud, improper payments, and mismanagement of its unemployment insurance system. California Governor Gavin Newsom's office responded by blaming, quote, lax regulations and rushed distribution of unemployment benefits by the first Trump administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Labor Department also says New York is losing an estimated $2 million a day to fraud and improper payments. Vice President J.D. Vance, who's the chairman of the task force to eliminate fraud, was in New York on Wednesday, commenting on the recent lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against the Medicaid director of New York State. This person was actually inviting fraudulent bidders to come in and take advantage of your tax dollars so that we could send it to fraudsters instead of you. And that's disgraceful. In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for New York Governor Kathy Hochul accuses the Trump administration of attacking political opponents during an election year. You know what these fraudsters are doing? They are taking advantage of American generosity to enrich themselves. And we need somebody who's going to put them in jail and protect your money. And that's exactly what we're doing under the administration. Jason Perry, NTD News. And that's all we have for you tonight on the Capitol Report. Stay connected to the stories that matter. Visit us at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app. From the nation's capital, I'm Jack Bradley. Have a nice evening and we'll see you right back here tomorrow.