President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Nidal Hasan's execution by firing squad "will not be streamed" -- reversing the controversial announcement by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the killing would be publicly broadcast.

Trump said that Hasan's execution will still take place as scheduled "by firing squad" -- even though it will not be livestreamed.

The Pentagon had maintained earlier this week that the livestream was moving forward. But in a new statement to ABC News, Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell said that Hegseth and Trump are now "completely aligned."

"President Trump and Secretary Hegseth spoke about the decision to not livestream Hasan's execution ahead of the Truth Social announcement. The Secretary supports the President's decision, and they are completely aligned," Parnell wrote.

Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding another 32 in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. Hasan, who described the attack as an act of jihad, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Dec. 3 at the same base where he committed the attack.

"I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device," Trump wrote in a social media post Thursday morning. "He will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed."

Trump added that the execution can be viewed in person by the families of victims if they choose.

John Galligan, who has represented Hasan for years as his civilian attorney, said the cancellation of the livestream came "as no surprise." Galligan still criticized what he views as the administration's broader mishandling of the execution, adding that Hegseth made a "dumb decision" to "livestream any execution" since it "violated the Army's own regulation."

Public executions were once common in the U.S., but states began restricting and abolishing the practice in the mid 19th and early 20th centuries. The last widely recognized public execution was carried out in Kentucky in 1936.

Last week, Hegseth vowed to make the execution public and confirmed it would be livestreamed. But Trump and his advisers earlier this week were mulling whether to no longer livestream Hasan's execution, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News, amid a hesitancy over whether broadcasting the execution could super charge anti-American propaganda or reflect poorly on the U.S.

Vice President JD Vance said last week that he wasn't sure whether there would be a livestream, adding that he wouldn’t watch it if there were.

Many lawmakers -- including several Republicans -- spoke out against the livestream. Outgoing Republican Sen. Thom Tillis condemned the livestream plan last week saying that, "Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America."

Eight in 10 Americans say that Hasan's execution should not be livestreamed, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel out Thursday morning.

Reaction from Fort Hood shooting survivors

Alonzo Lunsford, a sergeant who had served in the Army since 1990, was among those injured in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. Hasan shot him seven times -- including in the head and in the stomach.

Lunsford said that receiving the news that the Pentagon would not livestream Hasan's execution was "a sigh of relief," calling the administration's reversal a "very smart choice."

"We show that we’re a better nation and a better people than to livestream something like that," Lunsford told ABC News. "Even though what [Hasan] did and why he did it is messed up, it shows that we can rise to the occasion to be better than him or anyone like him."

Keara Torkelson was a 21-year-old Army specialist preparing to deploy to Iraq when Hasan shot her at Fort Hood. A shot to her back and a bullet grazing her skull led to medical complications and her ultimate retirement from the Army.

Torkelson said "removing the livestream is the right decision."

"Justice doesn’t need to be broadcast to be real, and the victims and survivors shouldn’t have to relive any part of this through a public spectacle," Torkelson told ABC News.

"For those of us who lived through Nov. 5, 2009, this is so much more than a headline or a political debate. It’s part of our lives and our story that we continue to carry. I believe there is a way to acknowledge accountability and justice while still honoring the lives lost, the survivors, and the families who have lived with the aftermath for nearly 17 years."

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The war in Ukraine has continued to rage in the days after President Donald Trump declared an energy ceasefire there, with Russia targeting civilian and energy infrastructure as the U.S. applies pressure on Kyiv to halt attacks on oil refineries in Russia, which Trump says are to blame for the high price of diesel fuel.

As the president's announcement of a partial ceasefire Sunday -- covering energy infrastructure in both countries -- failed to yield any limits to the fighting, he continued to apply public pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The U.S. government-owned satellite infrastructure used by Ukraine's military for drone navigation and air defense on Wednesday was not operating at its normal functionality, raising concerns that American support for Kyiv was ebbing.

Zelenskyy said on a British television program Wednesday that his country was "losing a strong partner" in the United States, days after he said his military did not receive critical early warnings from partners of attacks that it had come to expect.

Six people were killed in strikes in Ukraine on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said.

A defense ministry official in Kyiv said overnight Wednesday that restrictions placed on Starshield, a satellite communications network owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX but contracted for use under terms set by the Pentagon, "disrupted" a number of "critical missions" in Ukraine.

A Ukrainian source said the restriction gave the Russians "real leverage on [the] frontline" by inhibiting the military's ability to defend against jet-powered Shahed drones. As the hours passed Wednesday, the Starshield limits began to loosen, but remained a concern for Ukraine.

The source said SpaceX did not warn Ukraine of the move or answer questions about the rationale for the halt.

Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX, said on Wednesday that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government" and "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately [President Trump.]"

The White House, Pentagon and SpaceX did not respond to ABC News' requests for comment.

'Only hurts Ukrainian forces,' analyst says

George Barros, an open-source analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, said "US decisions to throttle [Starshield] only harms Ukrainian forces on the defense in Ukraine," noting that Ukrainian forces have never been permitted to use the SpaceX networks for strikes deep into Russia.

"This decision will significantly degrade Ukraine's mid-range strike capability -- a key driver of Ukraine's recent battlefield momentum in 2026," he said in a post on X.

Intelligence sharing from military to military is America's primary contribution to Ukraine's war effort, analysts said, providing key early warnings for Russian strikes and targeting information.

Trump said Tuesday that intelligence sharing was continuing as usual.

A Ukrainian source in Kyiv on Wednesday said warnings did come overnight Wednesday -- but they were late.

European allies of Ukraine would look to fill any gap left by a U.S. drawback on intelligence sharing, but two European officials acknowledge there would still be a gap in Ukraine's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.

The battlefield impacts come amid tensions between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents -- and between negotiators working on a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Trump says Ukraine causing 'a world problem'

Trump has insisted the two sides stop targeting energy infrastructure, but he has focused in particular on Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries. Over the weekend he struck a deal with Moscow to release diesel exports into global markets.

Trump said on Saturday Ukraine should not "hit the refineries, because that's [caused] a world problem."

After a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Trump said he would authorize a Treasury Department license for the export of Russian diesel, overriding existing sanctions.

Gregory Brew, an energy analyst at the Eurasia Group, said the deal -- which would facilitate the export of some 74,000 barrels a day of diesel, a fraction of the amount Russia exported less than a year ago -- was motivated by Trump's domestic political calculations.

"All of this is being driven by the administration's desire to bring down fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections to try to improve Trump and the Republicans' outlook in that vote," Brew said. "So this is all being driven, I would say, largely by short-term considerations geared around energy prices and the midterm election outlook."

U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators, including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, met Friday about a potential peace framework in Miami, where tensions rose over the arrangement with Russia.

Made aware of the forthcoming announcement from Trump, Ukrainian negotiators cut the meetings short, according to a source familiar with the Miami talks.

Looking for leverage

Two days after the Miami talks, Trump on Sunday said Ukraine and Russia did agree to a ceasefire on energy targets, but neither side corroborated the claim. A U.S. official told ABC News Trump's announcement was driven by his frustration with the Ukrainian president to compromise on an energy truce.

Zelenskyy has said he would order his military to abide by a truce only if Putin would do the same.

"If Trump really does want Zelenskyy to make concessions -- either to agree to this energy ceasefire or to permit this this diesel deal [with Russia], or to to bow to a broader deal that is maybe a little bit more favorable to Russia -- he's going to look for ways to to exercise that leverage," Brew said, referring to a potential curtailing of intelligence sharing.

The Kremlin has also been mum about the ceasefire, with Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying the diesel deal and a broader peace agreement were on separate tracks.

Peskov reiterated what he called Moscow's consistent position "that we do not want a ceasefire" but instead "want lasting peace."

Trump's pressure campaign on Kyiv may be aimed at facilitating his diesel deal with Russia, Brew said.

"I would imagine that the Russian requirement for this deal to move forward is a halt to attacks on refineries," he said. "Russia needs its refineries to be operating under ideal circumstances in order to ramp back up diesel exports."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Wednesday that Ukraine remained ready to enter into a ceasefire, conditional on Russia laying down its arms simultaneously. Tensions with the Americans were not new, he said, recalling a Trump outburst in the Oval Office a month into his presidency, when he scolded Zelenskyy publicly.

"In less than two years, Ukraine has gone from 'You don't have the cards' to 'Don't play your cards,'" Sybiha said Wednesday.

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Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris on Tuesday appeared to lose his cool during a gaggle with reporters, singling out a journalist and threatening her with legal consequences if she recorded him on video.

"You do not have my permission to record. If you record, we will refer you to prosecutors," Harris told the reporter in a video captured by a Baltimore Banner photojournalist following his debate against Democratic opponent Dan Schwartz in Cambridge, Maryland.

"Everyone in here is recording," responded the reporter, identified as Cat Murphy, a data reporter at Capital News Service. "Why am I not allowed to?"

"But you are not allowed to," Harris responded. "We are in a two-party state. You are not allowed to."

Harris had just left the contentious debate in which some in the audience interrupted him with laughter as he tried to blame Democrats for the high price of diesel.

"You're rude," he said angrily, pointing to a woman in the audience. 

Harris, who is seeking a ninth term in the House, repeatedly referenced Maryland's all-party consent law, the Maryland Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act, which makes it unlawful for any person to "willfully intercept ... any wire, oral, or electronic communication" -- a felony subject to imprisonment for not more than five years and/or a fine of not more than $10,000.

But the law protects only private conversations, not situations such as a public official conducting a news conference with accredited journalists where the participants have no reasonable expectation of privacy, a Maryland labor and employment attorney said.

Joyce Smithey, managing partner of the Smithey Law Group in Annapolis, said Harris was "misapplying" the two-party consent law.

"A congressman speaking to journalists in a press conference has no reasonable expectation that his remarks are private," Smithey said. "Other reporters were openly recording. The fact that he expressly withheld consent from one journalist does not transform an otherwise public exchange into a private conversation. There is no basis under Maryland's two-party consent law for suggesting that the journalist was committing a crime simply by recording that exchange."

The video shows at least eight journalists participating in the gaggle with the congressman and Murphy told ABC News Wednesday she is credentialed through a gallery at the U.S. Capitol. The debate last night did not require press registration, Murphy added.

"With all due respect, this is a public forum," another reporter told Harris as the quarrel continued.

"Do you know the law?" Harris retorted, growing agitated. 

"I'm not a lawyer," the journalist admitted before questioning the congressman's credentials. "Are you? You're a doctor."

"Yeah, actually, I'm a legislator," affirmed Harris, an anesthesiologist by trade. "Yeah, I actually, I actually know the law well."

When Murphy attempted to steer the clash back to her questions about U.S. military hostilities with Iran, Harris looked around for law enforcement and called for an officer.

"You said that it could have gone smoother and it could have gone better. What did you mean by that?" Murphy asked regarding the congressman's comments on Iran during the debate.

"Take her camera. You're going to take her camera. She is violating the law. In fact, get an officer in here. She's violating the law on two-party, two-party recording," Harris stammered. "We need an officer."

The unidentified reporter again spoke out in Murphy's defense, contending that Maryland's two-party consent law applied to telephone communications.

"Audio and video have to have two-party approval in Maryland," Harris insisted. "Now they may not have to have it in Washington D.C. They have to have it in Maryland. She needs my approval to record."

"We are in public," Murphy insisted.

Harris didn't wait for an officer to respond to his pleas and pushed his way out of the room. 

"She's ruining all your chances to get an answer about anything," Harris bemoaned. "See y'all. Thank her. Thank -- thank her profusely!"

ABC News attempted to seek comment from Harris on Wednesday but has not received a response.

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A federal judge continued to block the Trump administration's move to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly's preliminary injunction orders the defendants to continue to preserve the status quo while the case proceeds.

The preliminary injunction was sought by the media organizations.

It follows a temporary restraining order the same judge issued last month blocking Trump's attempt to ban the news organizations from the White House.

"We are grateful that the Court ruled in favor of our clients CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO and secured access to the White House for these news media organizations and their journalists,” Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., attorney for CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO, said in a statement obtained by ABC News.

“When the President issued his ‘ban on the free press,’ he blatantly and explicitly violated due process and the First Amendment. Since then, the President has repeatedly, candidly, and consistently admitted in public that he banned our clients from the White House to punish reporting he doesn’t like and to try to force journalists to cover him in ways he prefers,” Boutros Jr. added.

“The harm this ban did to our clients, the First Amendment, and the public as a whole is profound. The Court was right to enjoin the White House from enforcing this ‘unconstitutional ban on the free press’ for the foreseeable future," said Boutrous Jr.

Last month, CNN, MSNOW and Politico requested a temporary restraining order to restore their reporters' access to the White House complex after Trump instituted the ban. In the lawsuit, the news organizations called Trump's decision at "direct assault on the First Amendment" and a "blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles."

Trump said in a social media post in September that the "Media Outlets shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they're covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America."

The Department of Justice defended the ban, citing specific stories from each outlet that it claimed violated "standards of professionalism and decorum" by “trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information."

Justice Department lawyer Michael Velchik last month argued that President Trump has broad authority to remove outlets based on national security determinations and the letters sent to the media organizations provided sufficient due process to justify revoking their passes.

"Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right," Velchik said.
 

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President Donald Trump and his advisers are mulling whether to no longer livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. 

The discussions come amid a hesitancy over whether broadcasting the execution could super charge anti-American propaganda, particularly among Islamic-extremist groups, or simply turn the execution into a spectacle that reflects poorly on the U.S, the sources said.  

Some officials, the sources said, have raised concerns about the optics of broadcasting an execution, particularly one in which a firing squad would shoot a paralyzed man confined to a wheelchair.

Hasan was paralyzed from the waist down during an exchange of gunfire with police during his 2009 rampage. 

Last week Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to make the execution public and confirmed it would be livestreamed. The Pentagon maintains the livestream is moving forward, with a defense official saying Tuesday in a statement: "The Secretary is correct. It will be live streamed. Details will follow."

Multiple people familiar with the planning described concerns behind the scenes about the video being used as propaganda by extremist groups.

Hasan told Army officials after his arrest that he had hoped to die during the attack and become a martyr and said he would still consider himself a martyr if he were executed, court records show. 

The president has asked a number of advisers and allies to weigh in on whether the Pentagon should move forward with livestreaming the execution. During discussions, a range of ideas have been floated, sources said.

Among the options being weighed is broadcasting the period immediately before the execution and cutting away before the firing squad shoots Hasan, an official familiar with the planning described. Another option being discussed is positioning the camera outside the execution area, potentially showing Hasan being brought in without broadcasting his death. 

When asked about the livestream last week, Trump said, "They're making a determination about that," but agreed either way Hasan should die.

The White House has not yet returned a request for comment. 

Additionally, Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson have said they wouldn't watch the execution. Opposition or hesitancy has been less focused on Hasan's death sentence which has broad support among Republicans, but on the decision to broadcast it. 

CNN was the first to report the debate among Trump and his advisers about whether to go through with the livestream.

On Nov. 5, 2009 Hasan, then an Army psychiatrist, opened fired on clusters of troops in a building at Fort Hood, killing 12 and wounding 32 others. He was sentenced to death in 2013 and has been incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. 

Hasan described his attack as an act of jihad against American troops for the wars being waged in Iraq and Afghanistan which he viewed as immoral. 

The military has not executed a death-row prisoner since 1961, when the sentence was carried out by hanging.

The Army had been preparing since at least February for the possibility of executing one or more of its four death-row inmates, including Hasan, but those plans centered on lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, where the Justice Department carried out a series of executions during Trump's first term.

Hegseth's announcement last week that Nidal Hasan's execution would be livestreamed caught Army planners by surprise, according to three officials familiar with the preparations, adding another complication to an execution the service is already scrambling to organize.

The Army has not carried out an execution by firing squad since 1945 and is still developing procedures for doing so, including determining how many shooters would participate and what type of chair would be used to secure Hasan. 

Lethal injection had been the service's only authorized means of executions since the 1980s until a 2023 rule change granting the Army secretary broad authority over the methods which death row inmates are executed. 

The last public execution in the U.S. was in 1936 in Kentucky.

Public executions were gradually outlawed by some states beginning in the 19th century and has long become taboo across much of the developed world. They remain in practice in North Korea, Iran and the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. 

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The White House has asked U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign, White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said during a press briefing Tuesday morning.

"We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign," said Zacharia during her first briefing as White House press secretary. "She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well."

A reporter later asked whether the president had spoken to Guilfoyle, but Zacharia only said that the president would take more questions when he departs the White House later Tuesday morning for Alaska.

In a social media post, Guilfoyle announced that her time in her post is "coming to an end." It is not clear from the post whether she resigned or was fired.

"It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve the United States of America. God bless President Trump, God bless our incredible diplomats and service members, and God bless the United States of America," Guilfoyle wrote.

Guilfoyle, the former wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and ex-fiance of Donald Trump Jr., held the ambassador position for nearly a year.

The announcement comes after a report that Guilfoyle allegedly offered a donor to President Donald Trump access to top administration officials in exchange for cash.

Eric Deters -- a former lawyer, conservative media personality and Trump donor -- alleged that Guilfoyle asked him to pay her $100,000 credit card bill in July 2025, days before her Senate confirmation hearing. Deters provided messages to ABC News he says he exchanged with Guilfoyle on the subject.

Wall Street Journal first reported on Deters' accusations that Guilfoyle's alleged actions were a quid pro quo.

Guilfoyle's attorney disputed the messages' authenticity to the Wall Street Journal, but did not provide specifics. ABC News reached out to Guilfoyle and her attorney on the matter, but did not receive a response.

Asked whether he was considering firing Guilfoyle on Monday, Trump said he was.

"We're looking at it. Yeah, we're not happy," Trump said.

A series of controversies have surrounded Guilfoyle's ambassadorship, including a report earlier this week in the Wall Street Journal that she boasted about private jet trips that were bankrolled by Greek businessmen.

Guilfoyle responded to the recent allegations against her in her Tuesday social media post.

"These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity," Guilfoyle wrote. "I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional. I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Athens earlier responded to the reports, saying that Guilfoyle has "faithfully followed State Department ethics and gift reporting guidelines."

Last week, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called for Guilfoyle to be removed from her post after reports of her misconduct.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Greece last week, was seen with Guilfoyle by his side during official meetings. The secretary refused to comment on the swirling reports, saying he didn’t know if they were true or not.

ABC News' Jay O'Brien contributed to this report.

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A federal judge repeatedly pressed for answers Monday during an hourslong hearing on who within the Trump administration ordered the abrupt removal of hundreds of trees at a Washington, D.C., public golf course over the weekend.

District of Columbia Judge Ana Reyes angrily scolded government attorneys in a hearing to block the government from cutting down more trees at East Potomac Golf Course.

"I am just at a total loss to understand what has happened here," Reyes said.   "Occam's razor time -- that the government precisely intended to do precisely what it has done, which is intentionally delaying letting the plaintiffs in the court know what was happening, so they could put a plan in place to clear hundreds and hundreds of trees."

The golf course has been the subject of litigation brought by the D.C. Preservation League in response to President Donald Trump's efforts to turn it into a course that could host professional tournaments.

Government attorneys had previously pledged to provide notice to plaintiffs in the case about any irrevocable harm that would occur at the golf course through government actions.

The government provided notice to the plaintiffs at 4:55 p.m. last Friday that tree-cutting would occur at the golf course over the Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day holiday weekend.

The National Park Service began cutting down trees on Saturday and the D.C. Preservation League, one of the plaintiffs in the case, filed for a temporary restraining order on Sunday.

Marissa Ann Piropato, a Justice Department attorney admitted to the court in Monday's hearing that 430 trees were cleared over weekend. 

Reyes exploded, "430 trees!"  

"I had said at the May hearing that I didn't want 10 trees chopped down without someone having notice," Reyes said. "On what universe did anyone in your office think that that was acceptable?"

"Your Honor, we did our best in providing notice," Piropato said.

"You did not do your best!  You did your absolute worst!," Reyes interrupted.

"More than just being upset and furious right now, I am just beyond disappointed in the government. I have done everything humanly possible to give the government the benefit of the doubt in this case. I have done it repeatedly. I have done it for months," Reyes vented. 

The government testified that the plan to cut down trees was part of a plan put in place in 2019 to remove dead, dying and hazardous trees around the golf course. 

Judge Reyes, noticeably frustrated by the government's conduct, ordered that government witnesses who could explain the how the decision to conduct tree removal with such minimal notices appear before the court immediately, including National Park Service Deputy Director Frank Lands.

Government  lawyers scrambled to locate NPS personnel to appear remotely under oath.

"No one else can say what the basis of the urgency was and when this idea was first identified, because we are talking now with potential multiple misrepresentation to the court and the only reason -- the only reason I have not yet entered a show cause on contempt is that I never put this in a formal order," Reyes said. "Which, believe you now, I am regretting."

Reyes extended a temporary restraining order she had issued earlier Monday barring the government from any further activity at the golf course until at least Tuesday afternoon.

Reyes also said she would be holding another hearing Tuesday to demand answers from Greg Wischer, a political appointee at the Interior Department who has been a point person on many of Trump's major D.C. beautification projects. 

Reyes says she wants clarity on who specifically gave the orders to remove the trees on Saturday and whether it was a deliberate effort to evade her previous orders issued in the case as litigation remains ongoing. 

"The questions go to whether or not I've been lied to," Reyes said during Monday's hearing. "Whether I've been lied to in declarations about the plans, whether or not I've been lied to about the timing of things ... I am beyond disappointed in the government right now. I wanted you all to be better than you have been."

Reyes had warned Justice Department lawyers of "serious consequences" if the administration began major work at the course without getting approval and notifying the court in advance.

"I'm going to say this one more time, and I do not want a situation where something has happened and then I'm being told by the government or by a foundation or by a bulldozing company that it's too late to do anything about it," she said. "If anything like that happens ... there are going to be serious consequences."

Trump promises the course, which he said will be renovated and redesigned through a public-private partnership, will be "one of the Greatest Golf Courses anywhere in the World" on the site and said it will be open to the public.

Trump toured the course in June with golf course architect Peter Fazio and his son Gavin Fazio and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for "studying the dilapidated, worn out, and very dangerous and outdated Golf Course known as East Potomac Golf Links." He said on his social media platform "on this fantastic site, with water and unparalleled views of D.C.'s Monuments, we will build one of the Greatest Golf Courses anywhere in the World which, importantly, will also be made available to the Public."

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President Donald Trump answered he's "looking at" firing Kimberly Guilfoyle when asked about the embattled U.S. ambassador to Greece on Monday.

Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a campaign rally that his administration is "looking at it" and added that it's "not happy" over reports alleging that she used her official position and links to the Trump family to get money from a donor. 

A Trump donor told ABC News last week that Guilfoyle offered access to top Trump officials in exchange for cash.

Eric Deters, a former lawyer, conservative media personality and Trump donor, alleged that Guilfoyle asked him to pay her $100,000 credit card bill in July 2025 -- days before her Senate confirmation hearing.

"It was all quid pro quo," Deters claimed about the request from Guilfoyle, who is the former wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and ex-fiance of Donald Trump Jr.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Deters' accusations.

Deters provided messages to ABC News he says he exchanged with Guilfoyle on the subject. In one message from that period, Deters alleges Guilfoyle wrote, "Honey please I need you to get this done for me today," which Deters alleged was in reference to the desired credit card payment.

ABC News has reached out to Guilfoyle, her attorney and the U.S. Embassy in Greece for comment and have not heard back.

In a statement released late Sunday, Guilfoyle's lawyers claimed that the money she was seeking was for appearances and speaking engagements that predate her nomination that have not been paid, according to The Associated Press.

Deters denies he owed Guilfoyle any money. He said he ended up not making the payment because he didn’t have the money.

Deters is considered a controversial character in Kentucky politics. He ran for Kentucky governor in 2023 and to represent Kentucky's 4th Congressional District in the House in 2024; he lost both races in the primaries.

A former lawyer, Deters had his law license suspended in 2012 for actions in multiple cases including comments he made about a judge and improper solicitation of a possible client. In refusing to reinstate Deters' law license in 2021, the Kentucky Supreme Court said he had a "notorious propensity" for filing "malicious or frivolous lawsuits," according to court documents.

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. embassy in Greece said Guilfoyle's "career in and out of public service is guided by deep and abiding values" and "the Ambassador remains committed to representing the American people with dedication and integrity."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he wouldn't answer questions about Guilfoyle's alleged conduct last week while departing Athens, Greece.

"I don't even know if it's true or not true," Rubio said. "So it's just not going to work that way, and it will certainly not going to work that way when I'm sitting in another country."

But White House and State Department leadership have held discussions on how to address the allegations against Guilfoyle, including possibly dismissing her, according to two sources familiar with the matter. 

Both sources cautioned, however, that no final decision had been made; one source said the the president would have final say over any action. 

Several officials close to Rubio have expressed their frustration with Guilfoyle, whose reported misconduct loomed over Rubio’s high-profile visit to Athens last week. Guilfoyle was present throughout the secretary’s program in Greece, even appearing at some events that she had not been invited by the State Department to attend, one U.S. official said. 

The official said that the State Department’s inspector general is examining claims of possible misconduct by Guilfoyle, but it is unclear if a formal probe has been launched and the department has declined to publicly comment on any investigation.

ABC News' Jay O'Brien contributed to this report.

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President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on his decision to allow Russian diesel imports amid growing backlash, calling it the "right choice" and arguing that Europe has previously purchased energy products from Russia as well.

Trump said in a Monday morning social media post that the "European Union paid Russia 250 Billion Dollars for Energy" and added, "I made the right choice for the American People — ALWAYS, AMERICA FIRST!"

Trump did not specify the period covered by $250 billion figure. Estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air tracking how much the EU has spent importing fossil fuels from Russia since the start of war with Ukraine roughly align with the figure Trump mentioned.

Trump's comments come after a small group of bipartisan senators came out against the Trump administration's plan to lift Russian oil sanctions and import a new supply amid spiking prices in the U.S. The senators, in a statement on Sunday, urged the administration to reverse its decision due to the ongoing war with Ukraine and ban on Russian energy imports.

"The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The Administration must immediately reverse course," the senators wrote in the statement.

Trump announced on Friday that he made a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately import 300,000 tons of its diesel fuel, with a promise that millions more are coming.

The statement was signed by Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, John Curtis and Lisa Murkowski as well as Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden.

The senators also argued the move violates a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports and opens the door to allowing Russia to potentially benefit financially on its war against Ukraine.

"President Trump's decision to allow Russian diesel imports to the U.S. runs directly counter to that law. The Administration has also failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation to justify its decision as required by statute," the senators wrote in the statement.

In April 2022, Congress passed the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, banning imports of Russian energy products. While the law does allow the president to lift the ban under certain conditions, it requires a justification to Congress before doing so, which the senators argue did not happen.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticized the decision, too, saying in an interview with ABC News over the weekend that the deal amounts to an "obvious weakness."

"It plays into Russia’s hands -- allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world," he said. "We count on America's fair support for our defense of life, for our defense of people in Ukraine -- and on the United States having a correspondingly strong conversation with Russia. A strong one, not a weak one."

Trump's decision comes weeks after he signed the bipartisan Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which authorizes tariffs on countries that continue to purchase Russian oil. Now, some senators, such as Tillis, say Trump's recent action runs counter to the efforts in the legislation.

"I completely reject it," Tillis said on NBC’s "Meet The Press" on Sunday. "If President Trump wants to end the strain of energy supplies, number one, get things right in Iran, and number two, recognize that it was Vladimir Putin, not Zelenskyy, that started this war. And it's Vladimir Putin who owns the responsibility for energy prices to the extent that they come from that part of the world."

Tillis said the agreement to purchase Russian diesel is "essentially, I think, tarnishing Lindsey Graham's efforts to try and get those sanctions bill through."

However, other Republicans are continuing to stand by Trump, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who is a vocal supporter of Ukraine and previously voted to establish sanctions on Russia.

Emmer told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jon Karl on Sunday that the deal was "another example of our president thinking out of the box" to address the American public's concerns about high oil and gas prices by importing fuel to the U.S. ahead of the midterm elections.

"He's listening to the American people, Jon. The American people are hurting because of this world market when it comes to diesel and fuel in general,” Emmer said.

Emmer also hailed the deal as another tactic in Trump's attempt to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

"I think this is just another step of trying to get that resolved," he said.

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After President Donald Trump demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defended the attacks in an exclusive interview with ABC News, saying his country is responding to repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

"I said it to President Trump … to his team and to his people several times: we want peace, we are ready for [a] ceasefire, we are ready to begin from any kind of steps of de-escalation," Zelenskyy told "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl. "And if the Russians want us not [to] attack their diesel, their refineries and etc., we are asking President Trump, give them signal not attack energy infrastructure of Ukraine."

He went on, "Don't attack us. Don't kill our children. We will stop attack[ing] your diesel. And I think it's [a] fair, fair deal."

After Zelenskyy’s interview on ABC News aired, Trump said on social media that Ukraine and Russia had both agreed to an energy ceasefire.

“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” his post said.

Zelenskyy and his office were not informed about Trump’s statement of an energy ceasefire with Russia ahead of time and learned about it from social media, a senior source in Ukraine's presidential office told ABC News.

The source said Ukraine has no information about the alleged agreement.

On Saturday, Trump lashed out at Zelenskyy to reporters, claiming the Ukrainian president "chooses not to" end the war with Russia, which began when Russia invaded the sovereign country in February of 2022.

Amid a global energy crisis, Trump took issue with Ukraine's repeated strikes on Russian oil refineries, asserting that those strikes are exacerbating the price of diesel.

"We said you could do whatever you want to Russia, don't hit the refineries, because that's a world problem that's caused. And [Zelenskyy] wants to make problems for the world," Trump said. "He can do whatever he wants. But you can't do that because we have a world problem. And the problem is caused by the lack of refineries for diesel fuel. So what does he do? He goes and hits refineries."

A senior Ukrainian source told ABC News that Ukraine expects the Trump administration to stop sharing U.S. intelligence that tracks Russian missile launches in retaliation over Kyiv’s refusal to end strikes on Russia’s oil industry.

Trump and Zelenskyy have had a tumultuous relationship. In 2025, a meeting in the Oval Office with reporters devolved into a shouting match before the cameras, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance rebuking the Ukrainian president for his handling of the war and even falsely blaming Zelenskyy for beginning the conflict.

The latest spat comes after Trump announced the U.S. had made a deal with Russia to "immediately" import 300,000 tons of its diesel fuel, with a promise that millions more are coming.

Zelenskyy said this deal amounts to an "obvious weakness."

"It plays into Russia’s hands – allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world," he said. "We count on America’s fair support for our defense of life, for our defense of people in Ukraine – and on the United States having a correspondingly strong conversation with Russia. A strong one, not a weak one."

Less than 24 hours later, Trump called for Zelenskyy to be replaced.

"You know what I suggest? I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal. Because he could have made many deals. And for some reason, he never does," Trump said on the White House South Lawn. "I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president."

He later told reporters, "I think he should have an election."

Responding to those comments, Zelenskyy told Karl, "With all respect to President Trump, it's up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader."

Zelenskyy also offered a solution that he said was shared with the Trump administration: a commitment to hold elections if Russian President Vladimir Putin abides by a 60-day ceasefire.

“I know that Putin wanted very much to change the president in Ukraine, I understand it. And if President Trump really wants to have some changes in -- during elections, I also shared it with his team: please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organize elections. Of course, we will be ready for any choice of our people.”

Karl asked Zelenskyy why he thinks Trump and Elon Musk, whose Starlink internet is essential for Ukraine, are blaming him for the war’s continuation. Musk said Saturday on X that Zelenskyy has “gone too far.”

“Because these people can't find a key how to stop Putin,” Zelenskyy said. “Because it's more simple to speak about the prices and connect it with Ukraine when everybody in the world understands ... prices are rising … because of the war in Middle East, of the blocking of Hormuz, because of these reasons. Everybody understands it.”

Asked how long Ukraine can continue to defend itself as the war approaches five years, Zelenskyy said the war has to end.

“I hope that we will save this unity, Europe and the United States," he said. "We will defend ourselves because otherwise, we will lose our life and homes, our freedom, independence, Ukraine. Yeah, we can't lose it. And the truth is on our side."

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In an extraordinary ramping-up of his ongoing efforts to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, President Donald Trump has ordered a committee to investigate mortgage fraud allegations against her, culminating in a closed-door, in-person hearing at the White House next month.

The move, laid out in a memo signed by the president and announced on Friday, creates a three-person "committee of inquiry" to hear the charges against Cook and allow her an opportunity to respond at the Nov. 5 hearing.

"Governor Cook shall appear at the hearing and be examined by the Committee, its representatives, and her legal counsel, if any," Trump's memo states.

No president prior to Trump had ever attempted to remove a Federal Reserve governor in the 112-year history of the central bank. The law allows for a governor's removal "for cause," but that term is not defined in the statute.

Trump's memo directs the panel to provide him with "written findings of fact and conclusions of law," along with a recommendation of "whether there is cause to remove Governor Cook."

The committee will be composed of top Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas and Keith Sonderling, the acting director of the Office of Government Ethics.

Trump's memo sets the terms of the panel's review and allows Cook to "present argument, written evidence, and written witness statements regarding the evidence and allegations."

The announcement of the hearing comes more than three months after the Supreme Court rejected Trump's initial attempt to fire Cook, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for a divided court that a final decision on Cook's dismissal could only be made after she "has had the opportunity to respond to the charges made against her."

Cook sued Trump to block his ill-fated attempt to fire her last year over the mortgage fraud allegations, insisting she has committed no wrongdoing. Her attorneys claim Trump’s attempt to oust her was based on her refusal to lower rates.

Lawyers for Cook said in a statement that they have "grave doubts" that the hearing will prove to be legitimate and legal.

"But if it is anything close to objective, the conclusion will be that Governor Cook did not commit mortgage fraud, leaving no cause to remove her from the Federal Reserve Board," Cook's attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, said in their statement.

Cook's lawyers says they're evaluating whether the process laid out by Trump’s order "has a possibility of being a genuine one and not simply a box checking exercise."

"Governor Cook welcomes the opportunity to present the facts so she can clear her name and demonstrate there is no legal basis to fire her," the attorneys said.

Trump's order says the hearing will be closed to the public but transcribed.

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The leader of the "764" network, which seeks to exploit minors online, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to sexually exploit minors.

For nearly four years, Prasan Nepal, 21, also known by the online moniker “Trippy,” led the network, which operated as "a nihilistic violent extremist network" and "engaged in a wide range of criminal conduct across the United States and abroad — including coordinated efforts to exploit minors, extort vulnerable victims, and inflict psychological harm as part of an organized ideology promoting chaos and societal destabilization," the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia said in a news release.

Nepal used encrypted apps to exploit minors through "rules," which were needed for the child to join the so-called network, and leaders would force minors "to engage in self-mutilation, online and in-person sexual acts, harm to animals, sexual exploitation of siblings and others, acts of violence, threats of violence, suicide, and murder," according to the news release.

ABC News reported in May that the FBI was conducting 250 investigations across the country tied to 764 and similar networks. In the six months since, the FBI has opened at least 100 more investigations, it said.

Nepal and his co-conspirators used child sexual abuse material to trade with other members of the group, and Nepal took advantage of at least eight minors as young as 13, U.S. Attorney Jeannie Pirro said.

“This case exposes a world where cruelty is currency, violence is entertainment, and children are treated as targets in a game of domination and control,” Pirro said. “What Nepal and his co‑conspirators built was not just a criminal operation, it was a deliberate campaign to corrupt the vulnerable and dismantle the guardrails of civilized society. Today’s plea is a victory for every child they sought to harm, and a warning to anyone who believes they can hide behind an encrypted screen: we will find you, and we will stop you.” 

Nepal faces between 15 and 30 years in prison and is expected to be sentenced in May 2027.

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Bernadette Greene-Placentia, a Democratic candidate for Congress who said she was raped while fixing a campaign sign in August, told ABC News on Thursday that she was motivated to speak up because of the arguments she was making on the campaign trail. 

"I was talking to some seniors about fighting for reinstating and funding the [Veterans Administration] and fixing Social Security, actually addressing the issues" amid federal government cuts or healthcare changes that impacted them, Greene-Placentia told ABC News Live anchor Kyra Phillips.

"It just crossed my mind at that point -- like, wow, I'm kind of being a hypocrite because I'm saying I'm going to fight for Arizonans. I'm going to fight for these folks, but I'm not fighting for women who've been victims of sexual assault, and that's just not how I was raised," she said. "So afterwards, I told my husband and my team, I was like, this is really going to suck, but I have to speak up."

Greene-Placentia, a former truck driver who is running in the state's 8th District to try to unseat Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh, told Phoenix New Times, a local news outlet, in a story published Wednesday that she was attacked around 2 a.m. as she was walking toward a campaign sign in a parking lot north of Phoenix. She said she had been subdued and then woke up to find that she was being raped by an unknown assailant.

Greene-Placentia told the news outlet she reported the assault to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which confirmed to ABC News that a report was filed on Aug. 31 and that there is an ongoing investigation, but said the office could not comment further on the investigation.

She told ABC News on Thursday that she thinks it was a "crime of opportunity" and that she was not necessarily targeted, but she mentioned that her face is on campaign signs and "I'm pretty sure they knew who I was. Whether it was for political reasons or whatever, I mean, it was an attack on a woman, and no woman should be targeted, regardless of whether it's for political reasons or just because they're predators." 

It hadn't initially worried her to go out so late to fix campaign signs. 

"I mean, I have about 4 million miles across the country, and, you know, I've learned how to take care of myself ... it's just easier to do it [fix signs] at night. And usually I would go out with my husband or a staffer or a volunteer. But if I saw one that was just hanging by the rebar or somethin. ... I never heard [the attacker] coming," she said.

"And it's frustrating to me because I like to think I have pretty good situational awareness, but obviously when someone deliberately sneaking up on you, it's hard to defend yourself."

Greene-Placentia said she does not remember coming home and has little memory of the next day, although said there is video of her landlord in the driveway.

"She saw me standing out there, and I guess I was just literally, like, staring off into space or something. And she's like, Bernadette, Bernadette, are you Ok? Are you Ok? And I just looked, you know, horrible."

She said she did not say anything to her campaign staff at first, and took a few days before she told her husband.

Asked what she wants voters to know about her in addition to her taking her story to Capitol Hill, Green-Placentia told ABC News she wants voters, including survivors of sexual assault, to know she was going to "fight" for them.

"I want people to know that I'm going to stand up. I'm going to fight for you. I'm going to fight for everybody because -- I got into politics, I gave up a career I loved, because I felt like there weren't people like me, like the average American," she said. 

"Our voices were not being represented, and that's from the working class. That's from women that have been victims of sexual assault. That's our seniors, our veterans, our teachers, and they need to know that they have somebody that lives the same life they do, that has shared experiences, and will take that to D.C. and represent them fairly, transparently."

She also said she understands where women who don't speak up about being assaulted are coming from, even though she used to be someone who was more judgmental of people who shared their stories. 

She brought up the 2018 hearings where professor Christine Blasey Ford accused then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Kavanaugh emphatically denied the allegations and was eventually confirmed to the court.

"I am a little ashamed to admit that I was one of those people. You know, like during the Kavanaugh hearings, for example, I was like, 'Why did she wait so long? If he was out doing this to her, he's going to do it to somebody else.' But let me tell you, that is so hard to acknowledge to yourself that somebody took your power away from you, that they stripped you of your bodily autonomy, and you know overpowered you with physical strength, and you don't want to admit that."

She added, "I was a truck driver. I was tough. I was in a male-dominated industry as an owner-operator and built up a small fleet. You know, how could I let this happen to me? I didn't want anybody to know. I just wanted to move on, and I can certainly understand why women don't want to tell that their story or what happened. But I also realized that as long as I don't say anything, then they maintain what -- they took that from me, and I wanted to take it back. And speaking out and speaking up for other women -- that is me taking it back."

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Vice President JD Vance on Thursday announced the suspension of tech giants, Microsoft and Adobe, from a green card program -- effectively blocking the companies from sponsoring H-1B visa workers for permanent residency green cards.

The suspension is from the PERM program -- a certification that allows employers to hire a foreign employee to work permanently in the U.S.

Vance singled out Microsoft, accusing the company of fraud.

"So if the H-1B visa is how the people get into the country, the PERM program is how they stay in the United States to begin with," Vance said. "Now there has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has abused the system more than Microsoft."

In a statement to ABC News, Microsoft said it "succeeds as a global technology leader by developing the world’s best technology workforce. We do this by strengthening this country’s talent pipeline, hiring American workers, and attracting the best talent from around the world."

Critics of the PERM program have said it allows companies to recruit foreign workers, taking away jobs from Americans. Vance alleged Microsoft employees were laid off -- later replaced by "foreign indentured servants" who "are earning wages that are far below the average for American citizens."

"So, in the last year, Microsoft -- and I want to be clear about the data here, so let me check this -- but Microsoft laid off last year 6,000 American workers," Vance said. "At the same time, the company benefited from 6,300 H-1B visas and almost 3,000 green cards."

"In other words, if you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants."

Microsoft said in a statement that "the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the United States are Americans."

It also pushed back on Vance's comments, saying it "only files H-1B petitions for those who meet the rigorous standards of this visa category."

"We pay our employees some of the highest compensation in the tech sector, and our wages are among the highest of all H-1B filings. We pay our H-1B employees the same as any other employees doing comparable work," the statement continued.

The criticism of Microsoft came hours before President Donald Trump awarded Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella the Medal of Technology and Innovation during an event at the Institute of Peace on Thursday.

Trump lauded Nadella at the ceremony, saying he has been "a key figure in the transformation of Microsoft, revolutionizing the company and empowering businesses, students and consumers from all over the world with some of the most capable software ever built or ever even conceived."

Vance acknowledged the contradiction of honoring Microsoft's CEO the same day as his announcement.

"Microsoft is a great American company, and we have a great relationship with them. They do a lot of important things," Vance said. "So we're going to continue to support Microsoft and have a great relationship with Microsoft, but we're also going to deny them the ability to apply for these permanent residencies until they show that they are going to get serious about putting American workers first."

ABC News has reached out to Adobe for comment.

Asked how long the suspension will be in place, Vance said it will "last as long as it needs to" and added that the administration has "a number of tools to suspend it indefinitely" if needed.

Vance, who has been asked to lead the administration’s Anti-Fraud Task Force, also criticized the H-1B visa program as a whole, saying it has become "rife with fraud" in recent years.

"The H-1B visa program is meant to allow companies to bring in really the best of the best from outside the United States of America for positions that are completely impossible to fill with American workers. Unfortunately, the program has become rife with fraud over the last several years, probably the last several decades," Vance said.

Attorney General Todd Blanche also chimed in about the issue of "foreign labor favoritism," promising that companies will be investigated if they "discriminate against an American worker in favor of someone on the other side of the world," with Blanche saying this "violate[s] the trust of the federal government and the American people."

"The Department of Justice, my department, is actively investigating companies that do this that favor foreign workers over the American people,” Blanche said.

Inspector General of Labor Anthony D'Esposito also announced that the Department of Labor is conducting a "historic investigation into the J-1 visa fraud involving nine major American universities: Pitt, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Brown, UC Davis, CaltTech, Arizona State, and MIT," with investigations already underway, he said.

"If an American university is breaking the law to save a dollar, while exposing American research to a foreign adversary, that is not academic excellence. It's institutional betrayal," D'Esposito said.

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The execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major who killed 13 people and wounded 32 others in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, will be live-streamed, a Pentagon official told ABC News on Thursday.

Hasan, who described the attack as an act of jihad, is scheduled to executed by firing squad on Dec. 3 at the same base where he committed the attack.

Public executions were once common in the U.S., but states began restricting and abolishing the practice in the mid 19th and early 20th centuries. The last widely recognized public execution was carried out in Kentucky in 1936.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a media interview that Fort Hood was chosen because that was where Hasan carried out the attack and that the 1 p.m. execution time was selected to roughly coincide with when the shooting began.

President Donald Trump ordered the Army to execute Hasan, which would be its first execution since 1961, and to do so by firing squad. The military has not used that method since 1945 and no longer has a modern procedure for administering it.

The choice of a firing squad forced the Army to abandon months of planning built around a very different kind of execution. Internal documents reviewed by ABC News show that officials had been preparing to use lethal injection if Trump authorized the execution of one of the four prisoners on the service’s death row.

Trump’s approval last Friday came only days after the botched lethal-injection execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee, who survived. Pike had been sentenced to death for her role in a 1995 murder.

John Galligan, a retired Army colonel and former military judge at Fort Hood, has represented Hasan for years as a civilian attorney and said he spoke with him Wednesday.

Hasan represented himself during his court-martial but Galligan remained involved in his legal counsel. He told ABC News that Hasan was notified late at night that Trump had approved the execution and that no defense attorney was present when he received the notice.

Last year, the Supreme Court declined to review Hasan’s court-martial conviction. However, Hasan could still seek habeas corpus relief in federal court, potentially delaying the execution.

Following his conversation yesterday with Hasan, Galligan said filing for a habeas petition is “a distinct possibility,” but that they have not yet made a final decision on how they will proceed.

Galligan criticized the Army for scheduling the execution close to the earliest date allowed under its regulations saying officials are, “pushing to get this done at earliest time possible.”

He was especially critical of the decision to carry out the execution at Fort Hood, citing medical concerns for how Hasan, who is paralyzed and in a wheelchair as a result of military officers who subdued him during the shooting, will be transported to the facility. Hasan is currently imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Army rules require an execution to be scheduled between 60 and 150 days after presidential approval, placing Hasan’s execution almost as early as the rules permit.

Galligan said that Hasan’s demeanor was calm after receiving the news of Trump’s approval of his execution Monday, but that he was surprised when Galligan told him that the execution would take place at Fort Hood.

“I'm surprised and shocked that they want to bring him back to Fort Hood. I think it's more of a public spectacle, closely akin to almost, I see it more as political theater,” Galligan said, adding that making the execution public is, “not great for the confidence in our system of justice.”

Hegseth’s push for Hasan’s execution

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, has pushed for Hasan’s execution for much of his tenure, according to two U.S. officials, but his focus on the case predates his time at the Pentagon.

In 2015, during an appearance on Fox News making the case that troops should be permitted to carry weapons on military bases, Hegseth invoked the Fort Hood shooting. “We are at war. Islamics are at war with us,” he said.

A decade later, in his role as Pentagon chief, Hegseth made his position on Hasan more explicit. “I am 100% committed to ensuring the death penalty is carried out for Nidal Hasan,” he told The Hill in September last year. “The victims and survivors deserve justice without delays.”

Internal documents reviewed by ABC News show that, since at least February, Army officials were developing a plan dubbed “Operation Resolute Justice.”

That plan envisioned lethal injection if the president authorized an execution in Terre Haute, Indiana, at the same prison complex where a series of federal executions happened during Trump’s first term.

From the mid-1980s until 2023, lethal injection was the default method of Army executions, until their rules were rewritten to give the Army secretary broad authority as to execution methods.

A military court can impose a death sentence, but carrying it out requires a separate chain of civilian approval. The service secretary, in this case acting Army Secretary Adam Telle, who has been in the job for about a month, must first sign off. The decision then goes to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth before ultimately reaching the president, who has the final authority to approve the execution.

How the Army has conducted firing squad executions

Among the unanswered questions are how the Army will select the soldiers who would serve as executioners and how it will train them for a task the military has not carried out in more than a half-century.

The Army’s most detailed procedures for carrying out an execution by firing squad date to 1959 and have not been updated since. The Army is quickly developing a new procedure on conducting firing squad executions, according to a service official.

But under those old execution rules, a condemned prisoner would be given consistent access to a chaplain, and, when practical, reasonable final requests, according to documentation reviewed by ABC News.

The execution itself called for eight riflemen led by a senior enlisted soldier armed with a pistol. The firing squad would take up position in a straight line, 15 paces from the prisoner, whose wrists and ankles would be restrained. A chaplain could remain with the prisoner up until the final moments before the shooting is ordered.

Between one and three of the eight rifles would be loaded with blanks, and the shooters would select their weapons at random. The prisoner would be dressed in a military uniform stripped of awards, insignia and other markings.

After being given an opportunity to make a final statement, the prisoner would be hooded and a medical officer would place a four-inch target over the heart. The chaplain and medical officer would then move away.

The firing squad would be ordered to aim and fire simultaneously. If the prisoner survived, the rules called for the senior enlisted leader of the firing squad to approach with their pistol, aim above the prisoner’s ear and fire 12 inches from the head.

It is unclear how closely the Army will adhere to those decades-old procedures in Hasan’s case, or how they might be adapted for a prisoner who is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair.

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A donor to President Donald Trump accused U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle of offering access to top Trump officials in exchange for cash.

Eric Deters -- a former lawyer, conservative media personality and Trump donor, alleged that Guilfoyle asked him to pay her $100,000 credit card bill in July 2025 -- days before her Senate confirmation hearing.

"It was all quid pro quo," Deters claimed to ABC News about the request from Guilfoyle, who is the former wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and ex-fiance of Donald Trump Jr.

Wall Street Journal first reported on Deters' accusations.

Deters provided messages to ABC News he says he exchanged with Guilfoyle on the subject. In one message from that period, Deters alleges Guilfoyle wrote, "Honey please I need you to get this done for me today," which Deters alleged was in reference to the desired credit card payment.

Guilfoyle's attorney disputed the messages' authenticity to the Wall Street Journal, but did not provide specifics. Guilfoyle's attorney also said the money could be a reimbursement for travel and speaking expenses. Deters denies he owed Guilfoyle any money.

Asked whether he thought Guilfoyle was asking for the payment in exchange for something, Deters told ABC News "absolutely."

"She made it very clear, and the text messages make it very clear. She was so desperate for me to send that $100,000," Deters said, adding that she said if he sent the money, she would help with his access to Trump administration officials.

Deters says he did not end up making the payment because he didn’t have the money.

Deters is considered a controversial character in Kentucky politics. He ran for Kentucky governor in 2023 and to represent Kentucky's 4th Congressional District in the House in 2024; he lost both races in the primaries.

A former lawyer, Deters had his law license first suspended in 2012 for actions in multiple cases including comments he made about a judge and improper solicitation of a possible client. In 2021, in refusing to reinstate Deter's law license, the Kentucky Supreme Court said he had a "notorious propensity" for filing "malicious or frivolous lawsuits," according to court documents.

Deters told ABC News that in exchange for money, he believed Guilfoyle would wield her influence to help him on specific issues, such as pressing for the extradition of an Ohio doctor who fled to Pakistan -- a detail he first told the Wall Street Journal.

Deters says he separately offered Guilfoyle money to press for that extradition. The individual in question is still living in Pakistan.

ABC News has reached out to Guilfoyle, her attorney and the U.S. Embassy in Greece for comment and have not heard back.

In a statement to WSJ, the U.S. embassy in Greece said Guilfoyle's "career in and out of public service is guided by deep and abiding values" and "the Ambassador remains committed to representing the American people with dedication and integrity."

During an event focused on eliminating fraud on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance was asked for his reaction to a government official, specifically a U.S. ambassador, asking someone to pay off their debt in exchange for access to other government officials -- an apparent reference to the Guilfoyle allegations.

Vance said he disapproves of people "selling access" to government officials, but denied knowledge about the particular instance being referenced. 

"Obviously, I don't love that," Vance said of the hypothetical scenario presented to him. He later added, "Of course, I don't like anybody selling access to another government official. Certainly, a high-level government official."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio sidestepped a question about Guilfoyle's alleged conduct overnight while departing Athens, Greece.

"I don't even know if it's true or not true," Rubio said. "So it's just not going to work that way, and it will certainly not going to work that way when I'm sitting in another country."

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President Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed what he called the "historic" enrollment of 70 million American children into his Trump Accounts, calling them “a step to ensure every American child has a fair shot at the American Dream.”

The administration announced that beginning on Oct. 1, the Treasury Department automatically enrolled 60 million children under age 18 in the president’s signature investment accounts in addition to the 10 million whose parents opted into the accounts following their official release on July 4. 

“With automatic enrollment now complete, every American child under the age of 18 has a Trump Account in their name, making it easier than ever for families to participate,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement.

According to the administration, $2.2 billion has been deposited into the accounts since their release on July 4. The Treasury Department pledged to pour a one-time $1,000 seed contribution for each child born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028. Children born outside of that range will not receive the seed contribution from the Treasury — but their family members and acquaintances are able to deposit money into the accounts. Several corporations — including Uber and Nvidia — and philanthropists — such as Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, who seeded the program with a $6.25 billion contribution, also donated to the accounts.

Trump, encircled by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and the Dells, predicted, "So if all goes well, which I think it will, they'll end up being quite rich by the time they're 18 and then 21."

Trump said in January when he announced the initiative that a number of major U.S. companies pledged to match the federal government's initial contribution for eligible employees' children, including Charles Schwab, Robinhood, SoFi, Uber, Charter Communication and BNY, and that several others had agreed to make contributions.

In a notice published in the Federal Register, the Treasury Department said that auto-enrollment was geared to maximize children’s participation in the accounts, estimating that an additional 2 million children would benefit from the accounts every year as a result. 

“An eligible individual should not lose the opportunity to receive contributions or investment growth merely because no adult completed an election,” the Treasury wrote in the notice.

Starting Oct. 1, parents no longer have to opt-in to the accounts, but can claim their children’s accounts on the Trump Accounts app.

According to the administration, the accounts are designed to boost future financial security for the most recent generation of Americans, with each child gaining access to the account in their name once they reach the age of 18. They can then allocate the funds in the account solely for purposes designated by the Treasury Department — including paying for university tuition or purchasing a house.

Some Democrats have praise the program. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called it a "smart policy," and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called it "one of the best things [Trump] has done."

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts introduced a similar proposal in 2023, which would have provided each American child with $1,000 at birth in an account that they could access at age 18, but it didn't make it out of committee. Booker also supported Trump's proposal.

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The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group will return to its homeport of San Diego on Thursday, concluding a 10-month deployment to the Middle East where it played a key role in the war with Iran and set a new record of 265 days in between ports of call.

In all, the ship will have spent 321 days on deployment, the second-longest since the end of the Cold War. The longest deployment was set earlier this year when the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford returned from a 326-day deployment to Europe, the Caribbean and the Middle East.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Lincoln on Wednesday ahead of its return home and praised the ship's crew for its resilience and dedication during the lengthy deployment.

Hegseth told sailors gathered on the carrier's flight deck that he had extended their deployment twice -- in recent years typical carrier strike deployments have lasted seven months.

"I plead guilty, A., because of the incredible effectiveness that you showcased on the battlefield and the necessity. But also B., the mission required it, and C., because President Trump had full faith that you would deliver on behalf of the American people, and you did" he, added.

"What the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group did, no other carrier strike group has ever done," Hegseth said, listing its accomplishments: "10,000 sorties, 23,000 combat flight hours, almost 4,000 combat sorties, 1.5 million pounds of ordinance dropped on the enemy," to cheers from sailors. 

The aircraft assigned to the carrier had returned to their home bases in California and Washington state earlier in the week.

The Lincoln's crew suffered from supply disruptions caused by the start of the war that impacted food stocks and the long deployment led to reports that the crew's mental health was suffering.

The Navy has reported that there were eight suicide attempts aboard the carrier during the deployment, including one sailor who jumped overboard and was later rescued.

That figure that appears to be on the lower end of what is experienced during carrier deployments, according to a U.S. official.

"There were a few folks in the media who tried to turn the USS Abraham Lincoln into some sort of a symbol," Hegesth said. "A symbol of dysfunction, or a symbol of low morale, or a symbol of a failed mission. And what I look out right here or when I talk to your leadership, and I haven't had a chance to talk to a number of you, I know it's the exact opposite." 

At the conclusion of his remarks, Hegseth announced that the Lincoln carrier strike group was being awarded the prestigious Presidential Unit Citation, an award for distinction given to military units.

When he read the citation to the crew, he disclosed more statistics about the carrier group's air operations against Iran that have not previously been disclosed.

That included: 3,693 combat sorties, 1.37 million pounds of ordnance dropped on Iranian targets, the launching of 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles by warships accompanying the carrier, the shoot-down of 77 Iranian one-way attack drones and 21 anti-ship cruise missiles, the defense against four fast-attack craft and explosive-carrying dhows, and helping with the sinking of 64 Iranian warships.

Navy officials have said that the Lincoln's deployment has helped them make quality of life improvements for future lengthy carrier deployments, including that of the USS Theodore Roosevelt which left San Diego a week ago bound for the Middle East.

"Roosevelt is maximizing its load-out of food, retail products and hygiene items before getting underway," Adm. Daryl Caudle, the Chief of Naval Operations, said in a recently released video.

"The crew is converting available spaces into additional storage, building the ability to remain self-sufficient for longer periods, especially when resupply may be difficult," said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman.

And quality of life is a focus with new entertainment equipment available to sailors. as well as more durable fitness equipmen. and spare cardio machines.

The carrier's systems are also being upgraded with software updates and instructions, and being pre-staged aboard the ship," allowing the crew to keep critical services running even when bandwidth is limited or the ship is operating in a degraded condition," Caudle said.

Improvements have also been made to climate control systems and a specialized team will be on board to inspect and optimize those systems, Perryman said.

And improvements are being made to keep families informed about the deployment. 

"As one carrier returns home, we listen to its sailors and families. We capture what worked and what didn't, and we make it better the next time," Prettyman said. "To the Lincoln team, thank you for what you accomplished and for what you taught us, and to the Roosevelt team, we're doing everything we can to make sure you are ready for the mission. You and your families."

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The remarkable survival of Christa Pike after an attempted execution in Tennessee poses equally remarkable legal questions about whether a second state attempt to kill her would violate the Constitution.

Pike, 50, who is said to be "conscious" and "speaking" after receiving two doses of lethal injection, faces what her attorneys call a "long recovery" and the prospect she may return to the death chamber.

Her attorneys say a second attempt at ending her life now would be "cruel and unusual punishment" under the 8th Amendment and are urging Gov. Bill Lee to commute her sentence to life without parole. So far, the Tennessee governor has publicly kept execution on the table.

"My responsibility is to uphold the sentences that Tennessee juries have handed down, even when it's difficult, and that is exactly what we intend to do in the days ahead," Lee said at a press conference last week. "The people of Tennessee have determined that the death penalty is the appropriate penalty for the most heinous crimes in the state. The people of Tennessee make that decision, and my job is to make sure then that those sentences are carried out."

Legal scholars say the case presents unprecedented circumstances, as Pike is the first person to have survived administration of pentobarbital, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

However, it is not the first time an American has survived attempted execution and challenged a subsequent attempt on constitutional grounds.

In 1947, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of 17-year-old Willie Francis, a Black teenager who was sent to the electric chair but survived a botched electrocution.

After a Louisiana executioner threw the switch, Francis reportedly screamed "I'm not dying!" and "Take it off! Let me breathe!," according to court documents.  

Witnesses, in sworn affidavits, reported seeing Francis' lips puff out and swell, body tense and stretch, and the chair itself came off the ground. "This boy really got a shock when they turned that machine on," one said.

The state insisted no electric current actually passed through Francis' body due to some mechanical difficulty. 

At the time, it was the only known U.S. case of a condemned person surviving an attempted execution.

Francis, who at age 16 had been convicted of murdering a former employer, challenged a second electrocution by arguing it would violate 14th Amendment due process rights, a 5th Amendment prohibition on multiple punishments, and amount to cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment. 

Attorneys for Christa Pike could likely raise similar claims, legal experts say.  

The high court in 1947, however, narrowly rejected them.  

In a 5-4 decision authored by Justice Stanley Reed, the Supreme Court concluded Francis' constitutional rights would not be violated by electrocuting him a second time (which Louisiana ultimately did). 

"Accidents happen for which no man is to blame," Reed wrote in the decision. 

"Even the fact that petitioner has already been subjected to a current of electricity does not make his subsequent execution any more cruel in the constitutional sense than any other execution," he wrote.

Reed rejected claims of added "psychological strain" on Francis because of the botched first attempt and the notion that a do-over would amount to "more severe punishment" than was originally imposed.

Justice Felix Frankfurter, concurring in the decision, added that states also have the right to administer justice as they see fit. "This court must abstain from interference with state action no matter how strong one's personal feeling of revulsion against a state's insistence on its pound of flesh," he wrote. 

In dissent, Justice Harold Burton argued that repeated electrocutions amounted to unconstitutional cruelty. 

"It is unthinkable that any state legislature in modern times would enact a statute expressly authorizing capital punishment by repeated applications of an electric current separated by intervals of days or hours until finally death shall result," Burton wrote. 

He noted that Louisiana state law — as with most others that authorize the death penalty — call for methods that impose instantaneous and substantially painless death. 

"If the state officials deliberately and intentionally had placed [Francis] in the electric chair five times and, each time, had applied electric current to his body in a manner not sufficient, until the final time, to kill him," Burton wrote, "such a form of torture would rival that of burning at the stake."

Burton concluded: "It was the statutory duty of state officials to make sure that there was no failure," he wrote dissenting. 

Whether or not the faulty administration of lethal injection to Pike was an "accident" could be a key question in weighing a future legal challenge, if state officials decide to try to execute her again.

State officials have said publicly that they followed established protocol during the episode, even as it is now under independent review.

Pike's attorneys say they repeatedly pointed out in court documents that her unusually small veins would pose unique difficulty for executioners, and that childhood trauma from rape and sexual abuse would exacerbate mental anguish in the death chamber.

Her attorneys did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

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Democrats are urging Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to stop the Trump administration's proposed changes to Head Start, calling the reforms to the early childcare and education program illegal and "antithetical" to the mission of Head Start.

Head Start, the largest federal childcare program, aims to ensure that more than 700,000 kids receive a high-quality pre-school education for students ages 3-5 and improve welfare outcomes for children and their families. The reforms transfer federal oversight to state programs.

In a letter led by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, a bicameral coalition of lawmakers accuse the federal health department of proposing to "gut" the program by rolling back 90% of its performance standards and it asks Kennedy to withdraw the changes outlined in the agency's recent announcement.

But the new administrative changes could diminish program quality, reduce disciplinary standards, eliminate jobs for educators and healthcare providers and weaken protections for students with disabilities and unhoused families, according to the letter that was first obtained by ABC News.

"This proposed rule is a brazen attempt to dismantle Head Start without regard for the hundreds of thousands of young children and working-class families who depend on these programs and services every year," the lawmakers wrote in the letter to Kennedy's office on Wednesday.

In addition to Sanders, who serves as the ranking member on the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Education Committee ranking member Bobby Scott and more than 150 other Democrats signed onto the letter. 

The lawmakers allege that the proposed changes violate the Head Start Act -- the law that authorizes the eligibility and standards for the program -- and illegally eliminate the program's core components of giving vulnerable students and families a boost in life. For more than 60 years, the program has provided early childhood education, health, nutrition and family support services to low-income children and families.

Head Start has undergone major revisions under previous administrations, including the largest reduction in funded Head Start slots in program history.

Since FY16, Head Start enrollment has declined from over 1 million children to 771,121 in FY25, according to government data. The National Head Start Association supports the government's intent to reduce unnecessary burden on Head Start programs and educators but the organization said the proposed rule exceeds its deregulatory approach.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services contended that any Head Start program that likes its current performance standards under the federal government's previous guidance is welcome to maintain those standards.

"Head Start teachers and staff are exceptional professionals who have in many cases dedicated their lives to serving children and families," the spokesperson wrote. "It is a shame that some elected leaders in Washington do not trust Head Start directors, teachers, and parents to make wise decisions for the children they serve but instead believe Washington must tell all 1,600 Head Start centers across the U.S. exactly how they have to run their programs."

Early childhood advocates stress that new regulations requiring English-only instruction, caps on administrative spending, and shifts in health screenings could also harm future Head Start participants.

Wednesday's letter comes as the 60-day open comment period for the changes ends. Kennedy's uncle, Sargent Shriver, founded the program in 1965. The secretary has said that the reforms will remove unnecessary bureaucracy for hundreds of thousands of American families to renew the "promise of Head Start for the next generation" by allowing local Head Start centers more authority over their programs.

In their letter, the lawmakers scolded the proposal saying Kennedy "made a commitment to Congress to 'preserve' Head Start," during his confirmation hearings -- "yet this proposed rule is the latest attempt by the Administration to deteriorate and ultimately eliminate the program by gutting the core standards and services that have long-defined and ensured its success."

Meanwhile, the Trump administration's goal to make the largest revision to federal childcare policy in decades aligns with current administration priorities. If implemented, the new regulations would empower parents, implement the new federal dietary guidelines and physical activity standards, shift early childhood governing authority to the states, and eliminate duplicative layers of compliance, according to the health department. The department also awarded over $200 million to Head Start for nutrition, facilities, and other services last month.

For now, as federal funding remains intact and programs are still operating, Head Start proponents told ABC News that fewer federal regulations should not mean fewer results for its families.

Bernadine Futrell, who served as the Biden administration’s Head Start director, told ABC News that the program is life saving and provides critical services.

"It's more than early learning," Futrell told ABC News, adding "It is an early childhood program. It's focusing on brain development, health and nutrition, healthy habits, financial literacy, economic mobility for parents, and it's a two-generational approach – where it's not just a child being served; it's the entire family that is moving to another level."

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