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Navy’s former second-in-command convicted in historic corruption case

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A retired four-star admiral who once served as the Navy’s second-highest ranking officer, was convicted of bribery and other conspiracy charges, making him the most senior member of the U.S. military ever convicted of committing a federal crime while on active duty.

Following a five-day trial, retired four-star Adm. Robert P. Burke, 62, was found guilty on Monday of a scheme to direct lucrative contracts to a training company in exchange for a $500,000-a-year job after leaving the Navy, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. 

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Burke is facing up to 30 years in prison for his role in the scheme to direct contracts potentially worth millions of dollars to a New York City-based company that offered training programs to the Navy.

«When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent,» U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro wrote in a post on X following the conviction. 

RETIRED NAVY ADMIRAL CHARGED WITH BRIBERY FOR ALLEGEDLY OFFERING GOVERNMENT CONTRACT IN EXCHANGE FOR JOB

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«Our office, with our law enforcement partners, will root out corruption – be it bribes or illegal contracts – and hold accountable the perpetrators, no matter what title or rank they hold,» Pirro continued. 

Burke, who served as vice chief of naval operations, was once the Navy’s second-highest ranking officer. 

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According to court documents and as the evidence proved at trial, from 2020 to 2022, Burke was a four-star admiral who oversaw U.S. naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa, and commanded thousands of civilian and military personnel.

Yongchul «Charlie» Kim and Meghan Messenger, co-CEOs of a company not named by the DOJ, allegedly participated in the scheme to get a government contract in exchange for offering Burke a position with the company.

The company provided a training program for a small part of the Navy from 2018 and 2019, before their contract was terminated. 

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FORMER US ARMY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST SENTENCED FOR SELLING SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS TO CHINESE NATIONAL

Robert Burke

Turkish National Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar (R) receives Commander of Joint Force Command Naples, Admiral Robert P. Burke (L) in Istanbul, Turkey on April 20, 2021.  (Arif Akdogan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The company was told by the Navy not to contact Burke, but the three met in Washington, D.C., in July 2021 and Burke allegedly agreed to use his influence to get the company a sole-source contract and urge other Naval officers to use the company for a more widespread training program that Kim estimated would be worth «triple digit millions.»

In December 2021, Burke allegedly ordered his staff to award the company a $355,000 contract to train Naval personnel under his command in Italy and Spain and made an unsuccessful attempt to convince a senior Naval commander to give them another contract. 

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«There was no connection between this contract and his employment. The math just doesn’t make sense that he would give them this relatively small contract for that type of job offer,» Burke’s defense attorney, Timothy Parlatore, previously told Fox News Digital.

Burke allegedly implied that he had no role in awarding the contract, and that his discussions with Kim and Messenger didn’t start until after the contract started. 

‘FAT LEONARD’ MASTERMIND BEHIND LARGEST CORRUPTION SCANDAL IN US MILITARY HISTORY SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS

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Robert Burke in front of Congress

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Robert Burke testifies during a House Armed Services Committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Both Kim and Messenger were arrested in May 2024 and were charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery and could face 20 years in prison. 

Parlatore told Fox News Digital that they are «obviously disappointed by the verdict,» but said «this is a result of the fact that the jury did not get to hear the whole story.» 

«The investigation was very poorly conducted. It was conducted by the exact same investigator who completely screwed up the Fat Leonard case,» Paralore said. 

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«They didn’t do any research and so you have an incompetent and unethical, corrupt investigator relying upon the word of a known liar, building this terrible case. And ultimately, the only way that they could bring it to a conviction was to only present certain evidence to the jury,» Paralore continued. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. 

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Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

Crime,US Navy,Politics

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Manifestantes se movilizan hacia la Casa Blanca con críticas a Trump por los ataques a Irán

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Cientos de manifestantes de distintas organizaciones sociales se movilizan este sábado hacia la Casa Blanca con críticas al presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, por los ataques a Irán.

Mientras crece el conflicto en Medio Oriente y también el temor en Estados Unidos a una guerra prolongada, en las inmediaciones de la casa del gobierno estadounidense se concentran cientos de personas que, con banderas y carteles, protestan contra la decisión de Trump de atacar Irán.

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El mandatario estadounidense es blanco de críticas en Washington por haber ordenado la Operación Furia Épica (Operation Epic Fury) que, según un comunicado del Comando Central de Estados Unidos, es «la mayor concentración regional de poderío militar estadounidense en una generación».

Entre los manifestantes que gritan «no a la guerra en Irán» y sostienen carteles reclamándole a Trump que no arroje bombas a ese país también hay una buena cantidad de latinos que, en español, cantan «el pueblo unido jamás será vencido».

Mientras cada vez más manifestantes se suman a las protestas en la capital estadounidense, Trump sigue desde su residencia en Mar-a-Lago el minuto a minuto de la escalada de tensión tras el ataque a Irán.

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La portavoz de la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt, informó que Trump ha estado toda la noche siguiendo la operación, bautizada por Estados Unidos como «Furia Épica», y que tuvo una llamada telefónica con el primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu.

«El presidente y su equipo de seguridad nacional continuarán monitoreando de cerca la situación durante todo el día», declaró Leavitt.

El Gobierno distribuyó una primera fotografía que muestra una sala de crisis improvisada en Mar-a-Lago con cortinas negras y un mapa de Irán. Trump con saco y camisa pero sin corbata y una gorra con las siglas de USA (EE.UU., en inglés), estuvo acompañado por el secretario de Estado, Marco Rubio; el director de la CIA, John Ratcliffe, y la jefa de gabinete de la Casa Blanca, Susie Wiles, además de otros asesores.

Desde la Casa Blanca, en Washington, siguieron el operativo el vicepresidente, JD Vance, junto a la directora de Inteligencia Nacional, Tulsi Gabbard, y el secretario del Tesoro, Scott Bessent, entre otros.

Mar-a-Lago es la residencia donde Trump suele pasar los fines de semana y desde allí ofreció de madrugada el mensaje en video en el que anunció el lanzamiento del ataque contra Irán, cuyo objetivo último es la caída del régimen. Desde esa misma mansión, monitoreó el pasado 3 de enero el ataque estadounidense contra Venezuela que terminó con la captura de Nicolás Maduro.

Estados Unidos e Israel lanzaron este sábado un ataque contra objetivos en Teherán y otras ciudades en Irán, que respondió con el lanzamiento de misiles hacia territorio israelí y bases militares estadounidenses en toda la región.

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Según el primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu, hay «señales» que apuntan a que el líder supremo iraní, Alí Jamenei, «dejó de existir» tras el ataque israelí a su residencia de este sábado.

El secretario de Estado, Marco Rubio, notificó del ataque con antelación a siete de los ocho congresistas del llamado Grupo de los Ocho, del que forman parte los líderes republicanos y demócratas de la Cámara de Representantes y del Senado.

Varios legisladores demócratas han denunciado no haber sido avisados del ataque y acusan al Gobierno de iniciar una guerra encubierta sin pasar por el Congreso, que tiene la potestad de autorizar un conflicto bélico en el exterior.

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Además de las críticas de legisladpres opositores y de las manifestaciones en las inmediaciones de la Casa Blanca, en las últimas horas se multiplicaron los cuestionamientos a Trump.

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La exvicepresidenta Kamala Harris dijo que Trump «está arrastrando a Estados Unidos a una guerra que el pueblo estadounidense no desea». Y cerró: «Seamos claros: me opongo a una guerra de cambio de régimen en Irán, y nuestras tropas están siendo puestas en peligro por la guerra predilecta de Trump».

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Tomahawks spearheaded US strike on Iran — why presidents reach for this missile first

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The first missile in the U.S. arsenal used against Iranian targets in Saturday’s pre-dawn strike was the Tomahawk, a long-range cruise missile launched from Navy ships and submarines.

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About half the length of a standard telephone pole, the Tomahawk flies at the speed of a commercial airliner and can carry a 1,000-pound warhead about the distance from Washington, D.C., to Miami.

Fired from destroyers or submarines positioned hundreds of miles away, the missiles allow a president to respond rapidly to a crisis without sending pilots into contested airspace or deploying ground forces. 

The Tomahawk has become a go-to option for limited military action, because it offers precision and flexibility while keeping the U.S. footprint small. The missiles can hit fixed targets with high accuracy, reducing the risk of broader escalation. 

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Presidents of both parties have used Tomahawks in the opening hours of military operations, from strikes in Iraq in the 1990s to more recent operations in Syria and elsewhere. 

Defense officials and military analysts say the weapon’s long range, reliability and relatively low risk to American personnel make it an attractive first-strike option when the White House wants to send a message quickly but stop short of a wider war.

That combination of speed, distance and precision has kept the Tomahawk at the center of U.S. military planning for decades.

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The Tomahawk missile is manufactured by U.S. defense contractor Raytheon, also known as RTX. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Manufactured by defense titan Raytheon — now RTX — the Tomahawk has been a mainstay of the Navy’s arsenal since the 1980s. It was first used in combat during the 1991 Gulf War and has since become a go-to option for presidents seeking to strike from long range without putting U.S. service members in harm’s way.

«Year in and year out, administration in and administration out, it’s the long-range land attack cruise missile that presidents reach for first in a crisis,» Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Fox News Digital.

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But heavy use has taken a toll. «We’ve been using them far more frequently than we’ve been producing them,» Karako said.

Prior to Saturday’s operation, the missile was used in June 2025 during a U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Smoke rises after Iranian missile attacks in Bahrain

Smoke rises after reported Iranian missile attacks, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026. (Reuters)

Overall, the Tomahawk has been deployed more than 2,350 times.

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At roughly $1.4 million apiece, the Tomahawk missile has an intermediate range of 800 to 1,553 miles and can be launched from more than 140 U.S. Navy ships and submarines. 

The Tomahawk strike was just one piece of a broader U.S. military posture in the region.

Ahead of the strikes, the U.S. military amassed what Trump previously called an «armada» in Iran’s backyard. Mapped out across the Persian Gulf and beyond, the deployment tells its own story, one of calculated pressure backed by credible capability.

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THE ONLY MAP YOU NEED TO SEE TO UNDERSTAND HOW SERIOUS TRUMP IS ABOUT IRAN

The deployment coincided with indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s disputed nuclear program. Trump has warned that the regime must fully dismantle its nuclear infrastructure or face consequences.

An F-35B jet is seen taking off from the flight deck of the USS America.

An F-35B takes off from the USS America flight deck. (Cpl. Isaac Cantrell/U.S. Marine Corps)

At the center of the U.S. presence are two aircraft carrier strike groups — the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford — each supported by guided-missile destroyers and cruisers and capable of sustained air and missile operations.

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More than a dozen additional U.S. warships are also operating in the region in support roles, according to defense officials.

It was not immediately clear how or when Tehran might respond, though Iranian leaders have previously warned of retaliation in the event of direct U.S. military involvement.

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Iranian ‘top target’ hit in $10M precision strike; US kamikaze drones used to ‘overwhelm’

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Israel struck its key target in Tehran Saturday in what a defense expert has described as a multimillion-dollar precision-guided attack alongside a broader offensive involving U.S. waves of lower-cost kamikaze drones.

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Cameron Chell, CEO of drone manufacturer Draganfly, told Fox News Digital the campaign would have likely paired advanced and costly assets against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound, while U.S. forces used cheaper drones to «overwhelm» on land, air and sea.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) also confirmed that the drones were deployed for the first time in history.

«CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike — for the first time in history — is using one-way attack drones in combat during Operation Epic Fury,» it said in an X post before adding that the «low-cost drones, modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones, are now delivering American-made retribution.»

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«Saturday saw an overwhelming daytime attack with incredible intelligence to target the leadership and a strike on the compound possibly costing tens of millions,» Chell said.

«That would likely have included expensive, precision-strike drones or manned aircraft in highly coordinated attacks to ensure success, not necessarily the lower-cost, one-way version of the suicide drones,» he explained.

«The U.S. has this lower-cost alternative to hit everything at once, but then the very expensive, high-precision assets would likely have gone directly after leadership on Saturday,» Chell added.

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A map of Western strikes against Iran (Fox News)

A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the compound strike was a «wildly bold daytime attack.»

«It caught the senior leadership off guard on a Saturday morning during Ramadan and on Shabbat in the daytime,» the official added. 

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«We hit the senior leaders right out of the gate,» the source told Fox national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin.

Iran’s military, government and intelligence sites were targeted, an official briefed on the operation also told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

A handful of top Iranian leaders were killed, including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

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AYATOLLAH’S ARSENAL VS. AMERICAN FIREPOWER: IRAN’S TOP 4 THREATS AND HOW WE FIGHT BACK

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is seen on Iranian state television.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the public on the 47th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, according to Iranian state television in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 9, 2026. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump also announced Saturday that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strike.

«If drones were involved in that top target attack, it would have been the very sophisticated MQ-type or Global Hawk-type drones,» Chell said.

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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said other attacks across the country were being done «to remove threats.»

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, those targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command and control centers, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.

Chell described how those secondary targets would have been hit by the U.S. with the cheaper one-way «kamikaze» drones before adding that the strikes «seemed to be an excellent example of mass overwhelm at a new level.»

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IRAN FIRES MISSILES AT US BASES ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AFTER AMERICAN STRIKES ON NUCLEAR, IRGC SITES

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine monitors U.S. military operations in Iran

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine monitors U.S. military operations in Iran after an Israeli strike in Tehran alongside several Cabinet members Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (@WhiteHouse/X)

Chell suggested Iran’s defenses were likely degraded well before the strike began because of the coordination.

«I think likely the defense systems, communication systems, were overwhelmingly compromised,» he added. «And so I think they just overwhelmed them,» he said.

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«I’m sure there would have been days, if not even weeks, of work and preparation to take out those defense communication systems.

«They would have compromised those defense communications in some way through electronic warfare or cyberattack. 

«The battlefield now is so multidimensional,» Chell emphasized.

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«It’s about cyber warfare, misinformation and electronic warfare as well.

«This was seemingly so swift because it was incredibly well-planned and coordinated by the U.S. and Israel on a massive level that’s not been seen before.»

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