Vice President JD Vance is poised to kick off a trip to Italy and India on Friday – marking his third international trip with the Trump administration. 

Vance and the second family are poised to meet with and ‘discuss shared economic and geopolitical priorities with leaders in each country,’ according to a statement from Vance’s office. 

When in Rome, Vance is scheduled to meet with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. He will meet with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi while visiting New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. 

Meanwhile, Meloni is also slated to visit the White House on Thursday in Washington. 

The vice president and the second family are also planning to conduct engagements at several unspecified cultural sites. 

The vice president’s office did not provide specifics regarding their trip.

It comes as the White House has said that more than 75 countries have reached out seeking to negotiate trade deals with the U.S., after the Trump administration unveiled historic tariffs on April 2. 

Both the European Union and India have signaled interest in brokering a deal with the U.S. on trade. Meloni has said Italy isn’t on board with the tariffs imposed on the EU, and is prepared to ‘deploy all tools’ to protect Italian businesses. 

The original tariff plan slapped 20% duties on goods from the European Union, as well as at least 26% duties on Indian goods. However, Trump announced on April 9 a 90-day pause on those tariffs where duties would be reduced to 10% as countries work to hash out trade deals with the U.S. 

Vance’s previous international trips include attending the Munich Security Conference in February, where he delivered remarks pushing Europe to ‘step up in a big way to provide for its own defense.’ He also warned that Russia and China don’t pose as great a threat to European nations as the ‘threat from within,’ concerning issues like censorship and illegal immigration.

In March, Vance visited Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, the Department of Defense’s northernmost military installation that houses Space Force’s 821st Space Base Group to conduct missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations.

A former Albanian ambassador to the U.S. says the country’s upcoming election will be more like a runoff between the policies of President Trump and George and Alex Soros as opposition parties call foul over corruption by the ruling socialists. 

‘Albania is now effectively a one-party system pretending to hold elections,’ Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, told Fox News Digital. Nesho said May’s election ‘is a clash between ‘Trump-ists’ and ‘Soros-ists,’ with the latter fighting to keep their grip on corruption and the state in Albania.’

Amid accusations of corruption and the recent arrests of major Albanian political candidates, some critics are voicing concern over the integrity of upcoming elections for the country’s 140-member Parliament, now scheduled for May 11. 

Nesho claimed the country’s ruling socialists ‘led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, is undemocratic and deeply rooted… for over 12 years, it has been supported by rich left-wing donors like Alex Soros, Rama’s close friend, and by projects like the USAID and Open Society [Foundations] judicial reform, which Rama co-opted and twisted to attack the center-right, conservative opposition.’ He claimed the prime minister ‘also oversees a powerful narco-state that spreads fear and exerts controls over elections.’

President Trump’s former campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, joined the campaign of Sali Berisha, the leader of Albania’s right-wing Democratic Party in February, according to Politico. LaCivita told the publication that Berisha would be ‘a true friend of the United States and… will successfully work with President Trump and the United States.’ He called Rama a ‘puppet of George Soros.’ 

Berisha, formerly president and prime minister of Albania, told Fox News Digital that Rama’s government ‘banned my name and the name of the party in the voting list’ during May 2023 elections. ‘When they failed with these measures,’ he said they went further. 

Parliament stripped Berisha’s legal immunity in December 2023 and placed him on house arrest under the accusation that he had used his position to help his son-in-law acquire private land. Berisha says that ‘official documents proved’ the land belonged to his son-in-law’s grandfather, and had been confiscated by the former Communist regime. 

Last November Berisha was released from house arrest. He was formally charged with corruption in September, the Associated Press reported.

Berisha’s spokesperson, Alfred Lela, told Fox News Digital that Berisha is now awaiting trial.

In addition to Berisha, Centrist Freedom Party leader and former Albanian President Ilir Meta was arrested on corruption charges in October 2024 in what one source told Fox News Digital was a ‘weaponization of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies.’ Once an ally of Rama, Meta has frequently noted the increasing corruption and authoritarianism of the Rama government. 

George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) has invested more than $131 million in Albania between 1992 and 2020, effectively ‘supporting Mr. Rama’s rise to power,’ the European Center for Law & Justice reported in 2023. The center alleges that OSF helped to allocate some of the $60 million that USAID spent on judicial reform in Albania between 2000 and 2015, explaining that Rama’s opposition has ‘denounced this reform as aimed at enabling the government to take control of the judiciary.’

OSF offices in Albania and the U.S. did not respond to numerous inquiries from Fox News Digital about allegations placed by its opponents against it. 

According to an OSF website, the group has ‘earmarked $600,000 to support the process to overhaul Albania’s judicial system’ in 2015 as part of Albania’s preparations to join the European Union. OSF claims ‘the money was used to fund a 20-strong expert panel, conduct public outreach and opinion surveys, establish a dedicated website, and organize conferences.’

NewsNation reported that Alex Soros often travels to Tirana, and calls it his ‘second home.’ In July 2021, Soros posted a selfie with Rama on Instagram, identifying the prime minister as his ‘good friend.’

Berisha says he asked eight years ago for the U.S. Congress and European Parliament ‘to ban [George] Soros’ political activity in Europe because he is an enemy of democracy.’

In a December speech, Berisha said he would ban the OSF from Albania, calling the group a ‘real national threat,’ according to Euronews Albania. Berisha said the Rama government’s mismanagement of resources and failure to mitigate poverty had forced the emigration of 45% of Albanians. 

Another impediment to Berisha’s run is the sanctions that former Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced against Berisha, his wife, and his children in May 2021. Blinken said Berisha had been ‘involved in corrupt acts, such as misappropriation of public funds and interfering with public processes, including using his power for his own benefit and to enrich his political allies and his family members at the expense of the Albanian public’s confidence in their government institutions and public officials.’

Berisha claimed that the sanctions against him were ‘entirely based on corrupted lobbying’ by George Soros and Rama. He also said members of the Biden administration ‘turned [the] U.S. Embassy in Tirana into a huge prosecutorial office,’ urging supporters, journalists and business people to stop supporting Berisha and his party, and that the State Department ‘asked other countries to sanction and to isolate me.’

Berisha said sanctions have hindered his campaign. ‘Of course it hurts me, because I’m not able to meet with Albanian Americans, which are so numerous, and in this election, for the first time, they have the right to vote for the party and candidate they prefer in their country of origin.’ 

A State Department spokesperson said they had no comment about Berisha’s claims that U.S. entities turned supporters against him. The State Department did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital about whether sanctions against Berisha should be upheld, or if they impede free and fair elections in Albania. 

A spokesperson for former President Joe Biden did not respond to questions on whether his administration had a role in turning supporters against Berisha.

Nesho noted that sanctions ‘lack… evidence and had been rejected by Albanian public opinion. It looks like a political move, driven by Rama’s big money allies such as Alex Soros, who benefit both commercially and in influence from keeping Rama in power.’ Nesho called on the Trump administration to ‘lift this ban immediately. It’s stirring anti-American feelings and clashes with the values of democracy and fairness,’ he added. 

Nesho claimed that ‘the last three elections were unfair, full of intimidation and theft. The upcoming May 11, 2025, election shouldn’t just be a fake show – it needs to be truly free and fair. The U.S. and EU must push for this or ask that the vote is delayed until it can meet proper standards.’

Fox News Digital also reached out multiple times to Albanian Prime Minister Rama, the OSF, a member of the Albanian Foreign Ministry, and the Albanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment about accusations of corruption and OSF election interference but received no response.
 

: Sens. Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley are demanding information from the Justice Department’s inspector general on whether any unassigned or ‘untasked’ confidential human sources (CHSs) from DOJ agencies beyond the FBI were in or around the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 

In 2024, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz revealed that there were more than two dozen FBI confidential human sources in the crowd outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but only three were assigned by the bureau to be present for the event. 

One of the three confidential human sources tasked by the FBI to attend the rally entered the Capitol building, while the other two entered the restricted area around the Capitol. If a confidential human source is directed to be at a certain event, they are paid by the FBI for their time.

Horowitz, in that report, said none of the sources were authorized or directed by the FBI to ‘break the law’ or ‘encourage others to commit illegal acts.’ 

In December, and after the release of Horowitz’s report, Grassley, R-Iowa, and Johnson, R-Wis., demanded information on whether confidential human sources from DOJ agencies beyond the FBI were used on Jan. 6, 2021. 

In an April 7 letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, Horowitz notified the senators that he found no evidence the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), or the Bureau of Prisons deployed confidential human sources to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.

‘We can confirm that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) did not have any undercover employees in Washington, D.C. on January 6 in connection with the events of January 6,’ Horowitz wrote in his response. ‘This includes in or around the Capitol or in the restricted area of the Capitol.’ 

‘We can also confirm that the ATF, DEA, USMS, and BOP did not have any tasked CHSs in Washington, D.C. on January 6 in connection with the events of January 6,’ Horowitz continued. ‘This includes in or around the Capitol or in the restricted area of the Capitol.’ 

However, Horowitz could not conclusively say whether any of those agencies had ‘untasked’ confidential human sources – or those who traveled on their own initiative – present on Jan. 6, 2021. 

‘With respect to whether any DOJ law enforcement components other than the FBI had untasked CHSs in Washington, D.C. on January 6 in connection with the events of January 6, unlike the FBI, we have no information at this time as to whether the ATF, DEA, USMS, or BOP conducted a post-January 6 canvass to determine if any of their CHSs traveled on their own initiative (untasked) to D.C. in connection with the January 6 events,’ Horowitz wrote. 

Horowitz notified Grassley and Johnson that after conversations with their Senate staff on the matter, the DOJ inspector general’s office is inquiring those agencies further on whether they have any information to indicate whether any of their confidential human sources were in Washington, D.C., ‘on their own initiative (untasked) for the events on January 6.’ 

‘We will supplement this response when we receive that information,’ Horowitz wrote. 

Grassley and Johnson, in a letter to Horowitz obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, demanded Horowitz provide that information, saying his investigative work appeared to be ‘narrowly focused’ on just the FBI’s use of CHSs, and said his response on ‘untasked CHSs from DOJ components other than the FBI’ was ‘less definitive.’ 

Additionally, Grassley and Johnson are demanding further information on confidential human sources, noting that ‘the term ‘undercover agent’ can mean many things.’ 

Grassley and Johnson are now reiterating their request for information on whether ‘any federal law enforcement components, including FBI, ATF, DEA, USMS, or BOP had employees or contractors wearing civilian clothing in the Washington D.C. area; at the Capitol Building; and in restricted areas on J6 in an official or unofficial capacity.’ 

Meanwhile, Grassley and Johnson, in December, also questioned whether Horowitz thoroughly reviewed classified and unclassified communications between handlers and their sources, warning that without that review, there may be a ‘major blind spot’ in his findings. 

Horowitz, in his April letter to the senators, said he reviewed the ‘relevant portions of CHS files in the FBI’s electronic record-keeping system for CHS management’ and obtained ‘relevant portions of those files,’ including underlying text messages, photographs and videos. 

Horowitz said he obtained emails documenting the FBI’s Washington Field Office communications with CHS handlers of the tasked CHSs, and emails of CHS handling agents of ‘untasked’ CHSs who contacted the Washington Field Office during the events of Jan. 6, 2021. 

‘We flagged certain additional documents to be produced, including 1023s, documentation of unauthorized illegal activity (which generated a negative response), approvals for the tasked CHSs, and some underlying text messages and photographs referenced in 1023s, including text messages sent and shared between CHSs and their handlers,’ Horowitz wrote, adding that he also obtained instant messages from the FBI’s classified and unclassified communication platforms. 

‘As with all reviews, we sought the information that was most relevant to our review, one aspect of which was to confirm that no FBI handling agent, FBI Headquarters personnel, or WFO personnel authorized any CHS to engage in illegal activity on January 6, 2021,’ Horowitz stressed. ‘Given this scope, and the fact that the OIG did not receive any information indicating that any individual handling agent had inappropriate communications with a CHS, the OIG requested and reviewed relevant text messages between handling agents and CHSs, but did not request all of the text messages for all of the 26 CHSs and their handlers.’ 

Horowitz explained that for many of the confidential human sources in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, ‘the handling agents did not know of the CHSs’ presence in Washington, D.C. until after the events of that day.’ 

‘We further note that, in the hundreds of prosecutions that took place in connection with the events at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and the extensive discovery that took place during those prosecutions, we are not aware that any CHS (or other person) provided text messages to a Court indicating that a FBI agent had encouraged or instructed (with or without authorization from their Field Office, WFO, or FBI headquarters) anyone to engage in illegal activity on January 6, 2021,’ Horowitz wrote. 

However, Grassley and Johnson say Horowitz’s response falls short, noting he ‘did not request all of the text messages for all of the 26 CHSs and their handlers.’

‘It’s well past time the American people received complete transparency and clarity regarding the full extent of the Justice Department and its component agencies’ involvement in the events of J6,’ Grassley and Johnson told Fox News Digital in a joint statement. ‘Inspector General Horowitz must be thorough in his approach and shed light on every corner of the department he oversees.’ 

Grassley and Johnson added, ‘We expect Horowitz to bring finality to this investigation by fully complying with our requests.’ 

A spokesperson for Horowitz did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

It apparently pays to lead the resistance.

Progressive lawmakers in Congress who have been among the most vocal in pushing back against President Donald Trump’s aggressive and controversial second-term agenda are seeing a surge in fundraising.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the longtime progressive champion, hauled in $11.5 million in the January-March first quarter of 2025 fundraising, according to Federal Election Commission filings this week.

The Vermont independent and two-time Democratic presidential primary runner-up also reports more than $19 million in his campaign coffers at the start of this month.

Sanders has been drawing tens of thousands of people to his ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ rallies across the country over the past six weeks. Co-headling those rallies is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another rock star on the political left.

The four-term Democrat from New York City raked in a massive $9.6 million the past three months. The record-breaking fundraising haul was one of the biggest ever for any House lawmaker.

Ocasio-Cortez’s team highlighted that the fundraising came from 266,000 individual donors, with an average contribution of just $21.

‘I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities,’ Ocasio-Cortez emphasized in a social media post.

Another Democrat in Congress who has been very visible in leading the resistance to Trump is Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Murphy, who won re-election last November and doesn’t have to run again until 2030, hauled in $8 million over the past three months, his biggest quarterly fundraising ever.

‘The people are sending Democrats a message about the direction they would like to see,’ top Sanders advisor Faiz Shakir said in a social media post.

Longtime Democratic operative and strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of the Sanders 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, told Fox News that ‘there’s a direct correlation between fundraising and action… this is an indication of the yearning for action over inaction… that is what Democratic voters and Democratic activists want.’

And Caiazzo warned that ‘the stale ways of Washington have been rejected by the voters, and we need to understand that going into the next cycle.’

While not bringing in similar eye-popping numbers, House Republicans are touting their first-quarter fundraising, as they prepare to defend their razor-thin majority in the chamber in next year’s midterm elections.

Seven GOP lawmakers in competitive districts who are being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee each raised seven figures over the past three months.

Leading the way was Rep. Mike Lawler of the 17th Congressional District of New York, who hauled in nearly $1.5 million during the first quarter. Lawler is mulling a statewide bid for New York governor in 2026. Also on the list are Reps. Juan Ciscomani of Arizona’s 6th District, Young Kim and Ken Calvert, of California’s 40th and 41st Districts, respectively, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa’s 1st District, Jen Kiggans of Virginia’s 2nd District, and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin’s 3rd District

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) highlighted that House GOP lawmakers in competitive districts enjoy a large fundraising advantage over Democrats in competitive seats.

And the NRCC emphasized that this is ‘a huge difference’ from the first fundraising quarter during the 2024 election cycle, when the Democrats held a campaign cash advantage. 

‘House Republicans aren’t just winning the fundraising game against vulnerable Democrats – they’re running laps around them,’ NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella argued.

While American taxpayers are familiar with the annual rigmarole of filing their federal taxes and realizing just how much of their hard-earned money Uncle Sam is taking away, several House Republicans are pushing a proposal to take some things away from the Internal Revenue Service: Guns and ammunition.

The ‘Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act’ would disarm the federal agency, prohibiting the commissioner of internal revenue from using funds to buy, receive or store firearms and ammo, and requiring the transfer of IRS firearms and ammunition to the Administrator of General Services. 

The guns would then be sold or auctioned to licensed dealers and the ammo would be auctioned to the public. 

Proceeds would go to ‘the general fund of the Treasury for the sole purpose of deficit reduction,’ the measure stipulates.

The bill states that ‘there are transferred to the Department of Justice the authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, which shall be maintained as a distinct entity within the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, including the related functions of the Secretary of the Treasury.’

Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., introduced the measure, which is backed by three original cosponsors: GOP Reps. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Mary Miller of Illinois, and Clay Higgins of Louisiana. 

The IRS says on its website that its ‘mission is to provide America’s taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and to enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.’

But Moore claimed that the federal agency has regularly been ‘weaponized.’

‘The IRS has consistently been weaponized against American citizens, targeted religious organizations, journalists, gun owners, and everyday Americans,’ Moore asserted, according to a press release. 

‘Arming these agents does not make the American public safer. My legislation, the Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act, would disarm these agents, auction off their guns to Federal Firearms License Owners, and sell their ammunition to the public. The only thing IRS agents should be armed with are calculators.’

In an April 15 post on X Moore noted, ‘Tax Day is a great reminder that it’s time for the IRS to stop wasting our taxpayer dollars stockpiling guns and ammo.’