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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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Iran warns of ‘real capabilities’ if Trump doesn’t drop ‘disrespectful’ tone toward supreme leader

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned President Donald Trump Friday to drop what he called a «disrespectful» tone toward Tehran’s supreme leader or face serious consequences. 

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In a blunt post on X, Araghchi said if Trump truly wants a deal with Iran, he must show respect instead of insulting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Araghchi wrote that Trump should «put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone» toward Khamenei and «stop hurting [Khamenei’s] millions of heartfelt followers.»

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER SLAMS TRUMP JUST DAYS AFTER US STRIKES ON NUCLEAR SITES

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks Thursday in a televised speech under a portrait of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Araghchi wrote, «The complexity and tenacity of Iranians is famously known in our magnificent carpets, woven through countless hours of hard work and patience. But as a people, our basic premise is very simple and straightforward: we know our worth, value our independence, and never allow anyone else to decide our destiny.»

Araghchi’s most provocative line came as he mocked Israel’s reliance on the U.S. during the recent military confrontation. 

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«The Great and Powerful Iranian People, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had NO CHOICE but to RUN to ‘Daddy’ to avoid being flattened by our Missiles,» he wrote, referring to U.S. intervention in striking Iranian nuclear sites.

The jab was a pointed reference to the longstanding U.S. and Israeli alliance and a not-so-subtle attempt to portray Israel as weak and dependent.

The post concluded with a clear threat.

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«If Illusions lead to worse mistakes, Iran will not hesitate to unveil its Real Capabilities, which will certainly END any Delusion about the Power of Iran. Good will begets good will, and respect begets respect.»

IRAN’S KHAMENEI LAUNCHES BLISTERING ATTACK ON TRUMP AFTER MIDDLE EAST VISIT

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took to X Friday with a message for President Trump. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Araghchi’s broadside comes just days after the war between Iran and Israel ended and less than a week after U.S. airstrikes ordered by Trump destroyed Iran’s key nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

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The 12-day conflict ended June 24 under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, yet postwar tensions remain high. Khamenei declared that Tehran had beaten Israel and even dealt Washington a «slap» in the confrontation.

Trump rejected Khamenei’s victory claims as false and «foolish.» He promptly froze any talk of sanctions relief for Iran in response and claimed he personally stopped Khamenei from being killed during the conflict, writing on Truth Social that he refused to let U.S. or Israeli forces «terminate» the ayatollah despite knowing his secret location. 

damage at the Fordow enrichment facility

A satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damage at the Fordow enrichment site in Iran after U.S. strikes last weekend. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

Araghchi also rejected President Trump’s recent claim that new nuclear talks were imminent, telling reporters that «there are no negotiations underway» and that Tehran would make decisions «based on our national interests.»

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According to Reuters, the foreign minister flatly denied any plans to meet with U.S. officials next week, contradicting Trump’s earlier remarks suggesting diplomacy was back on track.

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«I wish the leadership of Iran would realize that you often get more with HONEY than you do with VINEGAR,» wrote Trump on Truth Social. «PEACE!!!»

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The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.


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El secuestro masivo de niños ucranianos por parte de Rusia es un crimen de guerra, según los expertos

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Niños de un orfanato en la región de Donetsk, comen una comida en un campamento en Zolotaya Kosa, el asentamiento en el Mar de Azov, región de Rostov, suroeste de Rusia, viernes, 8 de julio de 2022. (Foto AP)

La abducción masiva de niños ucranianos por parte de Rusia constituye un crimen de guerra, según expertos, y ha dejado a miles de familias sumidas en la desesperación mientras intentan recuperar a sus hijos, muchos de los cuales han sido trasladados a campamentos militares u orfanatos en territorio ruso o zonas ocupadas.

Aproximadamente 35.000 niños ucranianos permanecen desaparecidos y se cree que están retenidos en Rusia o en territorios bajo control ruso, de acuerdo con un equipo estadounidense de expertos citado por The Guardian. Las familias afectadas se ven obligadas a tomar medidas extremas y peligrosas para intentar rescatarlos, enfrentando obstáculos legales, políticos y logísticos que dificultan enormemente la reunificación.

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La invasión rusa de Ucrania, iniciada en febrero de 2022, marcó el comienzo de una campaña sistemática de secuestro de menores. Los niños han sido arrebatados de orfanatos, capturados en el campo de batalla tras la muerte de sus padres o separados de sus familias bajo coacción directa. Las autoridades rusas han rechazado las exigencias de devolución de los menores, llegando incluso a acusar a Ucrania de “montar un espectáculo sobre el tema de los niños perdidos” durante las conversaciones de alto el fuego celebradas en Turquía este mes, según The Guardian.

El drama humano detrás de estas cifras se refleja en historias como la de Natalia, una madre ucraniana que relató a The Guardian el rescate de sus dos hijos adolescentes, quienes permanecieron casi seis meses en un campamento en Rusia. Tras la ocupación de su ciudad natal, Jersón, por fuerzas rusas en septiembre de 2022, una vecina le sugirió enviar a sus hijos a un campamento infantil en Anapa, una localidad costera rusa en el mar Negro. “El viaje de 21 días era gratuito y se suponía que regresarían a Jersón al final. Los chicos también querían ir, pero fue un gran error de mi parte permitirlo”, confesó Natalia.

La situación se complicó cuando las fuerzas ucranianas liberaron Jersón a finales de 2022, pero los hijos de Natalia seguían en el campamento, al otro lado de la línea del frente, y Rusia no permitió su retorno. “Las autoridades del campamento se negaron a dejar salir a los niños sin mi presencia física”, explicó. Sin saber cómo proceder, Natalia recurrió a una organización ucraniana que le ayudó a obtener pasaportes y documentos de identificación para sus hijos. Emprendió sola el viaje hacia Anapa, cruzando numerosos puestos de control y justificando su presencia ante soldados rusos. El trayecto duró seis días, bajo bombardeos, hasta que logró reunirse con sus hijos en febrero de 2023. “No puedes imaginar mis emociones, porque mis hijos son todo lo que tengo”, expresó.

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FOTO DE ARCHIVO: Anastasiia sostiene
FOTO DE ARCHIVO: Anastasiia sostiene a su hija Valeriia y a su hijo Maksym, que acudieron a un campamento de verano organizado por Rusia desde territorios no controlados por el Gobierno y luego fueron llevados a Rusia, tras regresar por la frontera entre Ucrania y Bielorrusia, en Kiev, Ucrania, 8 de abril de 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Hasta la fecha, solo 1.366 niños han regresado o escapado de vuelta a Ucrania, según la organización ucraniana Bring Kids Back. El equipo de expertos de la Universidad de Yale estima que hasta 35.000 menores podrían encontrarse en Rusia o en territorios ocupados. Muchos han sido enviados a campamentos militares, acogidos en familias rusas o integrados en el sistema de adopción ruso, donde las leyes se han modificado recientemente para facilitar la adopción y acogida de niños ucranianos por ciudadanos rusos.

La investigación del Humanitarian Research Lab de Yale, dirigida por Nathaniel Raymond, ha permitido identificar a miles de niños mediante el análisis de bases de datos rusas, documentos oficiales, conexiones familiares e imágenes satelitales de instalaciones y edificios oficiales en Rusia. Raymond declaró a The Guardian: “Esta es probablemente la mayor sustracción de menores en una guerra desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial, comparable a la germanización de niños polacos por los nazis”.

El presidente ucraniano Volodimir Zelensky
El presidente ucraniano Volodimir Zelensky recibe dibujos de niños en la inauguración del Centro para la Protección de los Derechos del Niño, el 31 de mayo de 2023 en Kiev, Ucrania. El centro forma parte de la iniciativa Bring Kids Back UA para devolver a los niños capturados ilegalmente por Rusia durante la invasión de Ucrania (Europa Press/Contacto/Pool /Ukrainian Presidentia)

Los testimonios de niños rescatados revelan que recibieron instrucción militar en los campamentos y sufrieron castigos por hablar ucraniano. Un niño de nueve años relató: “Teníamos que cantar el himno ruso y dibujar la tricolor”. Además, según Daria Kasyanova, presidenta de la Ukrainian Child Rights Network, los menores eran amenazados con represalias contra sus padres si no obedecían. Kasyanova, quien trabaja por la repatriación de los niños, recordó que este tipo de deportaciones forzadas no es un fenómeno nuevo. Durante la invasión rusa de Crimea en 2014, ella ayudó a evacuar a más de 40.000 personas de Donetsk y Lugansk, incluidos 12.000 niños. “Mi hija tenía 11 años entonces, y algunos de sus amigos que se quedaron fueron enviados a campamentos militares en Rusia”, relató.

El riesgo de desaparición de los menores en el sistema de adopción ruso es alto. Kasyanova advirtió: “A veces ocurre que un progenitor está en territorio ucraniano y el otro en la ocupación con el niño. Si ese padre muere o es arrestado, el niño queda solo y corre el riesgo de acabar en un orfanato. Si eso sucede, es básicamente imposible recuperar al niño. Se perderán”.

FOTO DE ARCHIVO: El presidente
FOTO DE ARCHIVO: El presidente ruso, Vladímir Putin, se reúne con la comisaria presidencial para los Derechos de la Infancia, María Lvova-Belova, en Moscú, Rusia. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool vía REUTERS

Raymond subrayó la importancia de documentar estos casos: “Llevar a un niño de un grupo étnico o nacional y hacerlo parte de otro grupo étnico o nacional es un crimen de guerra”. La Corte Penal Internacional coincide con esta valoración y, en marzo de 2023, emitió órdenes de arresto contra el presidente ruso Vladimir Putin y su comisionada para los derechos de la infancia, Maria Lvova-Belova, por el “crimen de guerra” de deportación ilegal de niños ucranianos.

La devolución de los menores sigue siendo una exigencia central de Ucrania en cualquier negociación de paz. Ksenia, especialista en evacuaciones de la organización ucraniana Helping to Leave, afirmó: “Estamos discutiendo territorios, y nuestra gente, nuestros niños, son nuestros territorios. ¿Cómo podemos renunciar a ellos? Son nuestros niños, son ucranianos y deben ser traídos [a casa]. Rusia no tiene ningún derecho sobre ellos”.

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Raymond explicó a The Guardian que los niños se han convertido en moneda de cambio en las negociaciones. “Cuando los rusos comenzaron, pensaban que iban a lograr la victoria rápidamente, así que este programa se implementó no para retener a los niños, sino para poder rusificar Ucrania. Pero como las cosas empezaron a torcerse, tuvieron que pasar de la fase de ocultamiento de responsabilidades a usar a estos niños como rehenes para obtener ventajas en las negociaciones”.

La magnitud de la tragedia, la complejidad de los rescates y la utilización de los menores como herramienta política evidencian la gravedad de la situación. Las familias ucranianas continúan luchando por la reunificación, mientras la comunidad internacional observa con preocupación el destino de miles de niños que, lejos de sus hogares, enfrentan un futuro incierto bajo la sombra de la guerra y la ocupación.

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ACLU sues Trump over birthright order as Supreme Court clears path for it to take effect

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Hours after the Supreme Court delivered the Trump administration a major victory Friday by ruling lower courts may issue nationwide injunctions only in limited instances, a coalition of liberal legal groups filed a sweeping new class-action lawsuit in New Hampshire federal court. It takes aim at President Donald Trump’s January executive order that redefines who qualifies for U.S. citizenship at birth.

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While the justices’ 6-3 ruling leaves open the question of how the ruling will apply to the birthright citizenship order at the heart of the case, Friday’s lawsuit accuses the administration of violating the Constitution by denying citizenship to children born on U.S. soil if their mothers are either unlawfully present or temporarily in the country and their fathers are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of New Hampshire, ACLU of Maine, ACLU of Massachusetts, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus and Democracy Defenders Fund. It seeks to represent a proposed class of children born under the terms of the executive order and their parents.

UPENDING US BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP WOULD HAVE DRASTIC NEGATIVE IMPACT, DEFENDERS WARN

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President Donald Trump answers questions during a news conference on recent Supreme Court rulings Friday in the briefing room at the White House. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

It is not the first legal challenge to the policy. The same group filed a separate suit in January 2025 in the same court on behalf of advocacy organizations with members expecting children who would be denied citizenship under the order. That case led to a ruling protecting members of those groups and is now pending before the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, with oral arguments scheduled for Aug. 1.

Friday’s SCOTUS ruling states that lower courts can no longer block federal policies nationwide unless it’s absolutely necessary to give full relief to the people suing. The decision does not say whether Trump’s birthright citizenship order is legal, but it means the order could take effect in parts of the country while legal challenges continue. The court gave lower courts 30 days to review their existing rulings.

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«The applications do not raise — and thus we do not address — the question whether the Executive Order violates the Citizenship Clause or Nationality Act,» Justice Amy Coney Barrett said, writing for the majority. «The issue before us is one of remedy: whether, under the Judiciary Act of 1789, federal courts have equitable authority to issue universal injunctions.»

«A universal injunction can be justified only as an exercise of equitable authority, yet Congress has granted federal courts no such power,» she added.

SUPREME COURT TAKES ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: LIBERALS BALK AT TRUMP ARGUMENT TO END NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS

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Trump speaks at press briefing

President Donald Trump, joined by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, addresses recent Supreme Court rulings with members of the press in the briefing room at the White House Friday in Washington, D.C. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in her dissent, suggested plaintiffs could pursue class actions as an alternative.

«Nevertheless, the parents of children covered by the Citizenship Order would be well advised to file promptly class action suits and to request temporary injunctive relief for the putative class pending class certification,» Sotomayor wrote. «For suits challenging policies as blatantly unlawful and harmful as the Citizenship Order, moreover, lower courts would be wise to act swiftly on such requests for relief and to adjudicate the cases as quickly as they can so as to enable this Court’s prompt review.»

The ACLU lawsuit calls birthright citizenship «America’s most fundamental promise» and claims the executive order threatens to create «a permanent, multigenerational subclass» of children denied legal recognition.

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«The Supreme Court’s decision did not remotely suggest otherwise, and we are fighting to make sure President Trump cannot trample on the citizenship rights of a single child,» said Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead attorney in the case.

Journalists outside Supreme Court

Members of the media stand in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., on the final day of this term on Friday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

«This executive order directly opposes our Constitution, values, and history,» added Devon Chaffee, executive director of the ACLU of New Hampshire. «No politician can ever decide who among those born in our country is worthy of citizenship.»

The lawsuit cites the 14th Amendment, which provides that «all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens.» It also references the Supreme Court’s 1898 decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which affirmed birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of noncitizens.

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The plaintiffs include individuals from Honduras, Taiwan and Brazil. One mother in New Hampshire is expecting her fourth child and fears the baby will be denied citizenship despite being born in the U.S.

The case is Barbara et al. v. Trump et al., No. 1:25-cv-244, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

«Trump’s executive order directly opposes our Constitution, values, and history and it would create a permanent, multigenerational subclass of people born in the U.S. but who are denied full rights,» said SangYeob Kim of the ACLU of New Hampshire in January.

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«Today’s historic decision delivers a decisive rejection of the weaponized lawfare President Trump has endured from leftist activist judges who attempted to deny the president his constitutional authority,» White House spokesperson Liz Huston wrote to Fox News Digital. 

«President Trump will continue to implement his America First agenda, and the Trump Administration looks forward to litigating the merits of the birthright citizenship issue to ensure we secure our borders and Make America Safe Again.»

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Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

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