FBI Director Kash Patel shared a picture of what he said was a ‘self-awarded’ trophy made by former FBI officials to celebrate Operation Arctic Frost, an investigation launched after the 2020 election targeting President Donald Trump and his allies.

The bizarre metallic-colored, 3D-printed award featured ‘AF’ with a lightening bolt and dollar sign printed along its body and a raised map of the U.S. on its base, which also included miniature buildings and infrastructure. ‘CR-15’ was printed along the base. CR-15 is a now-disbanded FBI unit that served as a public corruption squad. 

‘People ask why I said the old FBI was a diseased temple,’ Patel wrote on X. ‘This is what corruption looks like when it thinks no one is watching.

‘I disbanded CR-15 and removed the corrupt actors involved,’ he continued. ‘So when legacy media cries that President Trump’s FBI fired people and made sweeping changes, I have one response: You’re damn right we did.’

Patel made his comments as Republican lawmakers continue to raise alarms about the FBI’s Arctic Frost probe, which later fed into former special counsel Jack Smith’s work.

In October, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., unveiled 197 subpoenas they said the Biden-era FBI used to seek testimony and documents from hundreds of Republicans and GOP entities.

Johnson called the subpoena list ‘nothing short of a Biden administration enemies list,’ arguing Arctic Frost was used to improperly investigate the Republican political apparatus.

Smith, whose team used Arctic Frost in mounting charges tied to the 2020 election that were later dismissed after Trump’s victory in 2024, has defended his work and appeared on Capitol Hill to face questions from the House Judiciary Committee.

Republicans have criticized Smith for seeking gag orders against Trump during his presidential campaign; fast-tracking court proceedings; subpoenaing records and phone data of Trump-aligned individuals and entities, including members of Congress; and approving $20,000 in payments to an FBI confidential human source to gather intelligence on Trump, a source told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

— The Republican National Committee (RNC) is taking a big step toward holding its first-ever midterm convention.

The RNC on Thursday advanced a change to the party’s rules that would allow Chairman Joe Gruters ‘to convene a special ceremonial convention outside a presidential election cycle,’ according to a memo shared first with Fox News Digital.

National political conventions, where party delegates from around the country formally nominate their party’s presidential candidates, normally take place during presidential election years.

But with Republicans aiming to protect their narrow control of the Senate and their razor-thin House majority in this year’s elections, President Donald Trump announced in September that the GOP would hold a convention ahead of the midterms ‘in order to show the great things we have done’ since recapturing the White House.

The new memo highlights ‘the possibility of an America First midterm convention-style gathering aligned with President Trump’s vision for energizing the party this fall.’

The party in power, in this case the Republicans, normally faces stiff political headwinds in the midterms. And the hope among Trump and top Republicans is that a midterm convention would give the GOP a high-profile platform to showcase the president’s record and their congressional candidates running in the midterms.

The RNC’s rules are based on holding a convention every four years. The proposed rule change will allow the RNC to hold a midterm convention. If adopted, the rule states that the convention must be called at least 60 days in advance, and no business would be conducted during the gathering.

The proposed change was adopted Thursday evening by the RNC’s Rules Committee during the party’s winter meeting in Santa Barbara, California.

It’s unclear if the full RNC membership will vote on the rule change when it gathers Friday at the confab’s general session. If the rule isn’t adopted by the full RNC, it’s expected to be approved at the party’s spring meeting.

Gruters, in a statement to Fox News Digital, highlighted that the RNC’s winter meeting ‘shows how completely united Republicans are behind President Trump and our efforts to win the midterms. The RNC has been aggressively focused on expanding our war chest, turning out voters and protecting the ballot in this fall’s elections. We’re building the operation needed to protect our majorities and give President Trump a full four-year term with a Republican Congress.’

Details on the date and location of the midterm convention will come at a later date and will likely be announced by the president.

But a Republican source told Fox News Digital it’s probable the convention would be held at the same time as the RNC’s summer meeting, which typically occurs in August.

The rival Democratic National Committee (DNC) may also hold a midterm convention. Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital last summer that DNC chair Ken Martin and other party leaders were quietly pushing the idea of a convention ahead of the midterms.

Democrats held a handful of midterm conventions in the 1970s and 1980s.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States should have considered testing NATO by forcing member countries to respond to America’s southern border crisis.

Trump speculated in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. could have invoked Article 5 — the alliance’s collective defense clause that deems an attack on one member as an attack on all — thereby putting NATO ‘to the test.’

‘Maybe we should have put NATO to the test: Invoked Article 5, and forced NATO to come here and protect our Southern Border from further Invasions of Illegal Immigrants, thus freeing up large numbers of Border Patrol Agents for other tasks,’ he wrote.

The president’s comments came after he has recently questioned NATO’s commitment to aiding the U.S.

‘We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us,’ the president wrote on social media earlier this month.

After meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Trump announced that he had the ‘framework of a future deal regarding Greenland.’

Trump wrote on Truth Social that if finalized, the deal ‘will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations.’

Following the meeting, Trump said he would scrap a plan to impose tariffs on a group of NATO members who sent troops to Greenland amid the president’s efforts to acquire the island. Trump had asserted that those countries would be subjected to a 10% tariff on all goods beginning Feb. 1.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News this week, Rutte said Trump was ‘totally right’ about needing to shore up security in the Arctic region, noting that the chance of Russia or China becoming a threat in that region was increasing.

Rutte applauded Trump’s leadership in getting NATO countries to pay more money for the alliance’s defenses.

‘I would argue tonight with you on this program he was the one who brought a whole of Europe and Canada up to this famous 5%,’ Rutte said, ‘which is crucial for us to equalize our spending, but also protect ourselves. And this is the framework which you see in his post that we will work on.’

NATO members were previously spending 2% of GDP on defense, but have now agreed to spend 5% of GDP on defense and national security infrastructure.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

Louisiana state Rep. Julie Emerson announced on Thursday that she was nixing her U.S. Senate bid in light of President Donald Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow entering the GOP primary.

‘With Congresswoman Letlow’s entrance into the race, the path to victory that was visible a couple of months ago has diminished. I support President Trump and respect his decision to endorse Julia Letlow to defeat Bill Cassidy. Because of this, I’m choosing to end my campaign now,’ Emerson said in a statement.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2015, is running for re-election.

After the House impeached Trump in 2021, Cassidy was one of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict during a vote that occurred after Trump had already departed from office — the Senate vote ultimately fell short of the threshold required to convict Trump.

The president pledged his endorsement to Letlow in a Truth Social post on Saturday.

‘Should she decide to enter this Race, Julia Letlow has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, JULIA, RUN!!!’ the president exclaimed in the post.

Letlow launched a Senate bid days later.

‘Today, I am announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate to ensure the nation we leave our children is safer and stronger. Louisiana deserves a conservative Senator who will not waver. I am honored to have President Trump’s endorsement and trust. Let’s Geaux!’ she declared in a Tuesday post on X.

Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming and state Sen. Blake Miguez are also running in the Republican U.S. Senate primary in the state.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will not impose tariffs that were set to take effect Feb. 1, citing a ‘framework of a future deal’ with NATO involving Greenland and the Arctic region.

‘Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump said the deal, if finalized, ‘will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations,’ adding that the agreement led him to halt the planned tariffs.

Trump added that talks are continuing, saying, ‘Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland,’ and said Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff will lead negotiations and ‘report directly to me.’

‘As President Trump said, the details of the framework will continue to be unveiled as discussions continue,’ White House Spokeswoman Anna Kelly said to Fox News Digital. ‘The White House has nothing more to add at this time.’

This is a developing story, check back later for updates.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said a personal experience with Big Tech has led him to change his thinking, and he now believes companies should be liable for the content posted on their platforms.

Paul asserted that YouTube and its parent Google had refused to remove a video that falsely claimed that he had taken money from Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.

‘I’ve formally notified Google that this video is unsupported by facts, defames me, harasses me and now endangers my life. Google responded that they don’t investigate the truth of accusations… and refused to take down the video,’ the senator asserted in the opinion piece published by the New York Post on Monday.

Paul also noted that the person who posted the offending video removed it ‘under threat of legal penalty.’

‘My default position as a libertarian/conservative has been to defend the internet liability protections known in law as Section 230 of the Communications Act. The courts have largely ruled that Section 230 shields social-media companies from being sued for content created by third parties,’ he wrote. ‘Until now, I had not sufficiently considered the effects of internet providers hosting content accusing people of committing crimes.’

The experience was a turning point in his thinking.

‘The arrogance of Google to continue hosting this defamatory video and the resultant threats on my life have caused me to rethink Congress’ blind allegiance to liability shields,’ he asserted.

Paul accused the company of being inconsistent.

‘So Google does not have a blanket policy of refraining to evaluate truth. Google chooses to evaluate what it believes to be true when it is convenient and consistent with its own particular biases,’ he wrote.

‘This complete lack of decency, this inconsistent moderation of truthfulness, this conscious refusal to remove illegal and defamatory content has led me to conclude that the internet exemption from liability, a governmentally granted privilege and a special exemption from our common law traditions, should not be encouraged by liability shields and I will pursue legislation toward that goal,’ the senator explained.

‘I think Google is, or should be, liable for hosting this defamatory video that accuses me of treason, at least from the point in time when Google was made aware of the defamation and danger,’ he asserted.

Fox News Digital reached out to Google for comment on Wednesday — YouTube noted that the video had been pulled down by the user and is no longer on the platform. YouTube added that it relies on its openly available community guidelines to decide what material it will yank, and only takes down material ‘that poses a serious risk of egregious harm such as terrorist content.’ 

The video platform also claimed that it has always advocated for anyone to be able to share their view, asserting that it does not check the accuracy of individual videos ‘and the vast majority of content stays up.’

After President Donald Trump announced a new Greenland ‘framework’ had been agreed upon with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rhutte, the NATO chief told Fox News’ ‘Special Report with Bret Baier’ that U.S. forcibly taking control of Greenland, away from Denmark, was not discussed during meetings between him and President Donald Trump in Switzerland during the World Economic Forum.

‘That issue did not come up anymore in my conversations with Mr. President. He’s very much focused on what we need to do to make sure that that huge Arctic region, where change is taking place at the moment, where the Chinese and Russians are more and more active, how we can protect that’ Rhutte said when pressed on the details of the reported ‘framework’ that has been agreed upon, and that Trump said has resulted in his decision not to impose certain tariffs scheduled to go into effect Feb. 1. 

‘That was really the focus of our discussions,’ Rhutte insisted.

Trump announced the new ‘framework’ pertaining to Greenland in a post on his social media site Truth Social Wednesday afternoon while at the World Economic Forum this week. 

‘Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,’ the president wrote. ‘Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress.’

Trump noted that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will lead ‘the negotiations’ and report directly back to him.

‘We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won’t do that,’ Trump said earlier in the morning at the World Economic Forum. ‘Now everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, good.’ That’s probably the biggest statement I made, because people thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.’

During the exclusive interview with Fox News, Rhutte called Trump ‘totally right’ about needing to shore up security in the Arctic region, noting that the chance of Russia or China becoming a threat in that region is increasing every day. The NATO Secretary General also praised Trump’s leadership in getting other NATO countries to pay more money to the alliance’s defenses.

‘I would argue tonight with you on this program, he was the one who brought a whole of Europe and Canada up to this famous 5%,’ Rhutte insisted. ‘Which is crucial for us to equalize our spending, but also protect ourselves. And this is the framework which you see in his post that we will work on.’

Rhutte also noted that increased volatility between NATO-aligned countries, Russia and China underscored the need to shore up security in the Arctic region, during his interview with Fox News Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, the NATO chief was asked whether he thought other countries were dealing with the Russians and the Chinese differently than they have in the past.

‘It’s not up to me to comment on what individual allies are doing in terms of their relationship with China,’ Rhutte responded. ‘I think collectively, as NATO, we have a position. The position is that we should not be naive. I can tell you’ll regret these huge investments the Chinese are making in the military. They are not there to organize parades in Beijing, and the military in Russia are not there to organize parades in Moscow. They are there to be used.’

President Donald Trump dramatically reversed course Tuesday on a U.K. plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while warning it could jeopardize U.S. access to the Diego Garcia military base.

Trump’s reversal highlights what a defense expert called a ‘new Trump Doctrine’ before linking the president’s opposition to the Chagos deal with his Greenland push and citing fears Mauritius could later back out.

Writing on his Truth Social platform Tuesday, Trump called the U.K.’s Chagos decision ‘an act of great stupidity.’

‘Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER,’ Trump wrote. ‘There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.’

‘Trump has done a 180, partly because of the U.K.’s support for Denmark’s sovereign claims over Greenland and partly because of a new strategy outlined by the White House,’ John Hemmings, director of the National Security Center at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.

‘These moves are linked and part of a ‘new Trump Doctrine’’ outlined in November’s National Security Strategy,’ he explained.

‘Diego Garcia is a potential threat to Beijing’s strategy to control vital shipping lanes between the oil-rich Middle East and China’s industrial heartland,’ he added, describing how ‘nearly 23.7 million barrels of oil transit the Indian Ocean every day, with the base being vital in any U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan.’

In a separate post, Trump explicitly linked the Chagos dispute to his Greenland push.

‘The U.K. giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of national security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,’ Trump wrote.

The Chagos Islands were separated from Mauritius during Britain’s decolonization process, a move the International Court of Justice ruled unlawful in 2019. 

The U.K. later agreed to transfer sovereignty while leasing Diego Garcia back for at least 99 years at a cost of at least $160 million annually.

Diego Garcia is a hub for long-range bombers, logistics and power projection across the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific and Africa. Around 2,500 personnel, mostly American, are stationed there.

‘If Mauritius were to offer the islands to China after taking de jure control, it would put immense pressure on the U.S. in the eyes of international public opinion,’ Hemmings explained.

‘After all, once Mauritius has de jure sovereignty, it can renegotiate the lease terms or even renege on the treaty at any time it wants.

‘It might also provide access to the exclusive economic zone, with all of its rich fishing grounds, to Chinese fishing fleets, adding another layer of risk to U.S. Air Force operations around the island,’ Hemmings said.

‘At this moment, the U.S. base at Diego Garcia is thought to be secure, with Mauritius promising the U.K. (and by proxy, the U.S.) a 99-year lease, which will not, it is supposed, interfere with the operations of the air base at all. But the devil is in the details.’

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a potential White House hopeful for 2028, said on Wednesday that he wants a mandatory retirement age of 75 for the president and people holding office in other branches of government.

‘You’re 75 years old: done,’ Emanuel, a Democrat, said at a Center for American Progress event. ‘And that would be in the legislative branch, it’d be in the executive branch — including the Cabinet — and it’d also be in the Supreme Court, and all the federal courts.’

Emanuel, 66, acknowledged that he would be affected by this proposal if he happens to be elected president in 2028 and seeks re-election, as he would be 73 at the start of a potential second term.

‘I know where I am in my age. Of course it would apply to me,’ Emanuel told Politico. ‘You can’t say ‘here’s what I want to do to change Washington, one of the things I want to do’ — but I get an exemption because I bought it beforehand.’

The proposal would make President Donald Trump, 79, ineligible to continue serving and would have prevented former President Joe Biden, now 83, from serving his term in the White House.

In Congress, 17 senators and 45 House members are currently 75 or older and would be impacted by the standard.

Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, 77, and Samuel Alito, 75, would also be barred from continuing to serve on the bench, while Justices Sonia Sotomayor, 71, and John Roberts, 70, are nearing Emanuel’s mandatory retirement age.

‘You can’t serve in the armed forces, you can’t serve in private sector jobs,’ Emanuel told reporters on Wednesday. ‘Go work on your golf swing, it’s not that good to begin with.’

Emanuel, who served as ambassador to Japan under Biden and chief of staff under former President Barack Obama, is reigniting a topic that was hot during the last presidential election.

Biden, then 81, and Trump, then 78, were both campaigning for a second term ahead of the 2024 election while facing questions surrounding repeated gaffes. Biden ultimately dropped out of the race amid pressure to end his campaign over his mental and physical fitness.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, who ran in the GOP primary in the last presidential election, proposed mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75 during her campaign.

Emanuel, also a former House member, said he would push for legislation to set the limit instead of attempting a constitutional amendment. It is unclear whether that proposed legislation would be constitutional, and could be difficult to receive support in a Congress where the median age for senators is 64.

He said the age limit would be part of a broader demand for ‘comprehensive ethics, lobbying [and] anti-corruption reform’ across the federal government that he said would include a crackdown on lawmakers and judges accepting and stock trading. He wants the Democratic Party to push that proposal as part of a midterms message that also includes raising the minimum wage.

‘You have a president of the United States, in my view, that has expanded, deepened the swamp. Our job is to drain the swamp as Democrats,’ Emanuel said. ‘There’s not a day that goes by that you don’t read a story about either his family, [Commerce Secretary Howard] Lutnick’s family or [Special Envoy Steve] Witkoff’s family making money.’

President Donald Trump unveiled his Board of Peace on Thursday, with world leaders signing on to pursue a lasting agreement for Gaza.

Trump inaugurated the board during a speech and signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

‘Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do. And we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,’ Trump said in a statement.

‘This isn’t the United States, this is for the world,’ he added. ‘I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.’

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.