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Trump Son-in-law Jared Kushner Testifies in Capitol Riot Probe

President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. (AP)
President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. (AP)
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Trump Son-in-law Jared Kushner Testifies in Capitol Riot Probe

President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. (AP)
President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. (AP)

Former US president Donald Trump's son-in-law and top White House aide Jared Kushner answered questions Thursday from the House panel investigating last year's assault on the Capitol.

Kushner, the highest-ranking Trump advisor and the first family member to testify so far, appeared in private by video link voluntarily and was not subpoenaed, said AFP.

The House of Representatives committee is piecing together a detailed account of the events of the January 6 insurrection itself, but also of the plot by Trump allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the misinformation campaign falsely claiming widespread fraud that led to the violence.

Kushner was returning from Saudi Arabia on the day of January 6, 2021, and did not spend the night at the White House upon his return to the United States.

Committee member Elaine Luria told MSNBC after Kushner's appearance that he "was able to voluntarily provide information to us, to verify and substantiate his own take" on the election.

"It was really valuable to have the opportunity to speak to him," she said.

Kushner's testimony caps an intense period of almost daily revelations from the investigation.

It was revealed last week that conservative political activist Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent more than two dozen texts pushing wild conspiracy theories and urging then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to help overturn the 2020 election.

Kushner's name appeared in a message from Thomas dated November 13, 2020, when she told Meadows: "Just forwarded to yr gmail an email I sent Jared this am... improved coordination now will help the cavalry come and Fraud exposed and America saved."

It also emerged that White House logs given to investigators from the day of the insurrection show a gap of nearly eight hours in Trump's the records of calls, including the period covering the violence.

The committee is investigating whether it has the full record and if Trump communicated that day through phones of aides or personal disposable "burner" phones.

The select committee has also asked for testimony from Kushner's wife, former first daughter Ivanka Trump, who was in the White House on January 6 and pleaded with her father to speak out against the violence, according to reports.

The White House said on Tuesday it would reject any assertion of "executive privilege" -- which allows presidents to keep certain work-related conversations with aides private -- from Kushner or Ivanka Trump.

The committee is approaching the end of its investigative phase and is planning public hearings this spring.

The parallel but separate Department of Justice probe "has expanded to examine the preparations for the rally that preceded the riot," including those who "assisted in planning, funding and executing" the event, The Washington Post reported.

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World

Venezuela Reshapes Military in Shift Toward Washington

Handout picture released on March, 20, 2026 by the Venezuelan presidency press office showing Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez( C) during a meeting with outgoing Defense Minister Padrino Lopez (2nd L) and the new Defense Minister General-in-Chief Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez (2nd R) at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, on March 19, 2026. (Handout / Venezuelan Presidency / AFP)
Handout picture released on March, 20, 2026 by the Venezuelan presidency press office showing Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez( C) during a meeting with outgoing Defense Minister Padrino Lopez (2nd L) and the new Defense Minister General-in-Chief Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez (2nd R) at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, on March 19, 2026. (Handout / Venezuelan Presidency / AFP)
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Venezuela Reshapes Military in Shift Toward Washington

Handout picture released on March, 20, 2026 by the Venezuelan presidency press office showing Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez( C) during a meeting with outgoing Defense Minister Padrino Lopez (2nd L) and the new Defense Minister General-in-Chief Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez (2nd R) at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, on March 19, 2026. (Handout / Venezuelan Presidency / AFP)
Handout picture released on March, 20, 2026 by the Venezuelan presidency press office showing Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez( C) during a meeting with outgoing Defense Minister Padrino Lopez (2nd L) and the new Defense Minister General-in-Chief Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez (2nd R) at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, on March 19, 2026. (Handout / Venezuelan Presidency / AFP)

A sweeping overhaul of Venezuela's top brass is designed to remake the armed forces and draw them closer to Washington, multiple military and political sources told AFP.

Delcy Rodriguez has been in power for less than three months, but has already taken major steps to overhaul Venezuela's economy and politics.

Since her former boss and fierce US foe president Nicolas Maduro was toppled in January, Rodriguez has allowed more US investment in Venezuela's vast energy sector and pardoned hundreds of political prisoners.

This week, she turned to reforming Venezuela's all-powerful military and intelligence services, replacing a slew of entrenched commanders with officers seen as acceptable to Washington.

The most dramatic step was removing long-serving Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and installing former intelligence chief Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez in his place.

"Gonzalez Lopez is now the United States' man in the armed forces," said Sebastiana Barraez, a journalist who covers military affairs.

"He is pragmatic and not ideologically tied to the left."

A retired Venezuelan general told AFP that Washington wanted to restore the pro-US military doctrine abandoned under the leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez.

For decades, Venezuela maintained close military ties with the United States, buying weapons and sending officers north for training.

Chavez broke those links and turned heavily to Moscow.

The former general said the shift aimed to roll back two decades of cooperation with Russia and Cuba, whose advisers helped reshape the armed forces and supplied weapons from rifles to Sukhoi fighter jets.

He said much of that Russian equipment would soon need replacing if Venezuela were to return to US technology and training systems, once common before the Chavez era.

The retired general said the United States might even open a temporary base in Venezuela to secure the transition, a move that would cut against years of anti-imperialist rhetoric from the former government.

Cleberth Delgado, a former intelligence official now in exile, said the changes marked a transition guided by "instructions" from Washington, though the United States has not publicly confirmed any such role.

"These appointments would not have been possible without US approval," he said.

- Power moves -

Rodriguez's allies say the changes are needed to stabilize the country after Maduro's ouster, amid lingering fears of a coup and uncertainty over how long the transition government will last.

Before becoming defense minister, Gonzalez Lopez led the presidential guard, the DGCIM counterintelligence service, and twice headed the SEBIN intelligence service.

Rights group Provea described his return to a top security post as "recycling impunity", noting he is under US sanctions for alleged human rights violations.

During his tenure at SEBIN, opposition figure Fernando Alban died in custody after falling from a tenth-floor window. Authorities called it suicide; the opposition said he was murdered.

A retired general said Gonzalez Lopez previously aligned with Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a powerful Chavista figure, before shifting his loyalty to Rodriguez as the purge unfolded.

World

US Allows 30-Day Sale of Iran Oil at Sea in Bid to Tame Prices

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looks on as he speaks to the media after two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation, in Paris, France March 16, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looks on as he speaks to the media after two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation, in Paris, France March 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Allows 30-Day Sale of Iran Oil at Sea in Bid to Tame Prices

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looks on as he speaks to the media after two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation, in Paris, France March 16, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looks on as he speaks to the media after two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation, in Paris, France March 16, 2026. (Reuters)

The Trump administration waived sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil at sea for 30 days on Friday in its latest attempt to ease oil prices that have been driven up by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The waiver will bring some 140 million barrels of oil to global markets and help relieve pressure on energy supply, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on X.

The move reflects White House worries that the surge in oil prices after nearly three weeks of US and Israeli strikes on Iran will hurt US businesses and consumers ahead of the November midterm elections, when President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans hope to retain control of Congress.

THIRD SANCTIONS WAIVER DURING IRAN WAR

The license, posted to the Treasury Department's website after market hours, says Iranian oil can be imported into the United States under the waiver when necessary to complete its sale or delivery.

The US has not meaningfully imported Iranian oil since Washington imposed ‌measures after the ‌1979 revolution. It was unclear whether any Iranian oil would end up in the country ‌as ⁠a result of the ⁠waiver.

Cuba, North Korea and Crimea are among regions excluded from the license, which will remain in effect until April 19.

The move is expected to benefit Asia, the top buyer of Middle Eastern oil. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said supplies could get to Asia within three or four days and hit the market after being refined over the coming month and a half.

Independent Chinese refiners have been the main buyers of sanctioned Iranian oil, taking advantage of deep discounts as others avoided such purchases. India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Türkiye were also major buyers of Iranian crude before US sanctions were reimposed in 2018.

This is the third time the Treasury Department has temporarily waived ⁠sanctions on oil from US adversaries in a little more than two weeks. The moves ‌are part of the administration's attempts to tame energy prices that have soared above $100 ‌a barrel to the highest levels since 2022.

The US previously eased sanctions on Russian oil and on Friday issued a general license allowing ‌the sale of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels by Friday.

"In essence, we will be using the ‌Iranian barrels against Tehran to keep the price down as we continue Operation Epic Fury," Bessent said.

Bessent had telegraphed the move in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday, saying the release of the sanctioned Iranian oil into global supplies would help keep oil prices down for 10 to 14 days.

He said on Friday that Iran will have difficulty accessing any revenue generated by the move and Washington will maintain maximum pressure on Iran and ‌its ability to access the international financial system.

'RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS'

Oil prices have jumped about 50% since the US and Israel launched their attacks on February 28. Tehran has responded ⁠with attacks on Israel and Gulf ⁠states that host US bases.

Vital energy infrastructure in Iran and neighboring Gulf states has been attacked, and Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for some 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.

In its effort to tame oil prices, the Trump administration on Wednesday announced a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act shipping law, temporarily allowing foreign-flagged vessels to move fuel, fertilizer and other goods between US ports.

Energy analysts including Brett Erickson, a managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, have said the administration's efforts to control prices will not have a meaningful impact until the strait is opened to vessels.

"The easing of sanctions raises concerns about the rapid depletion of Washington's economic toolkit," to dampen oil prices, Erickson said. "If we've reached the point of loosening sanctions on the country we are at war with, we're really running out of options."

The US issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil stranded at sea after a 30-day license on March 5 specifically for India to buy Russian oil.

Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a nonprofit research institute considered hawkish on Iran, praised the decision.

"We've worked on sanctioning Iran’s oil industry for years. This is a smart move ... to help win the fight against the regime," Dubowitz said on X.

World

Report: Iran Ready to Let Japanese Vessels Transit Hormuz

Cargo ships sail in the Arabian Gulf towards Strait of Hormuz in the United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP)
Cargo ships sail in the Arabian Gulf towards Strait of Hormuz in the United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP)
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Report: Iran Ready to Let Japanese Vessels Transit Hormuz

Cargo ships sail in the Arabian Gulf towards Strait of Hormuz in the United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP)
Cargo ships sail in the Arabian Gulf towards Strait of Hormuz in the United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP)

Iran is ready to let Japanese-related vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies, Kyodo news reported, citing Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

Tehran has started talks with Tokyo, including with Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, about possibly opening the strait, Araqchi told the Japanese news agency in a phone interview on Friday.

Japan's foreign and trade ministries and the Prime Minister's Office did not pick up calls from Reuters on Saturday seeking comment on ‌the report.

"Iran ‌is, of course, ready to support ‌the ⁠passing of Japan-related vessels ⁠through the Strait of Hormuz," if Japan seeks its reopening of the strait, Araqchi told Kyodo.

Japan gets around 90% of its oil shipments via the strait, which Tehran has largely closed during the US-Israeli war on Iran. A spike in global oil prices sparked by the war, which enters ⁠its fourth week on Saturday, has prompted ‌Japan and other countries to ‌release oil from their reserves.

US President Donald Trump met Japanese Prime ‌Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday, urging her to "step up" ‌as he presses allies - so far unsuccessfully - to send warships to help open the strait.

Takaichi told reporters after the Washington summit that she had briefed Trump on what support Japan could and could ‌not provide in the strait under its laws.

Japan's actions are limited under its postwar ⁠pacifist constitution, but ⁠2015 security legislation allows Japan to use force overseas if an attack, including on a close security partner, threatens Japan's survival and no other means are available to address it.

Araqchi, a former ambassador to Japan, said Tokyo has a friendly relationship with Tehran, expressing hope that it would play a role in ending what he called unjustifiable and illegal "invasion" of his country.

The US does not seem ready to open conversations, Araqchi said, adding that Iran wants an end to the war, not a ceasefire, and is seeking a commitment that it would not be attacked.