President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has once again stepped into the geopolitical arena, landing in Egypt alongside White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza. 

The presence of Kushner — who has largely stayed out of Trump’s White House during the president’s second term and holds no official role in the administration after previously serving as a senior advisor to Trump — signifies that the U.S. is «serious» about securing a deal between Hamas and Israel, bringing an end to the two-year-long war and returning all 48 hostages. 

A White House official told Fox News Digital that Kushner, a «major architect of the Abraham Accords,» is an «extremely trusted voice on Middle East policy» and has been in contact with Witkoff throughout the Israel-Hamas negotiations over the last year.

The official said the White House is «grateful» for his expertise as it attempts to secure a deal and end the war this week, and remains «cautiously optimistic» that an agreement will be reached. 

ISRAEL, HAMAS MEET IN EGYPT TO REVIVE TRUMP PEACE PLAN AHEAD OF OCT 7 ANNIVERSARY

«To bring him in now, I think, indicates that, one: the Trump administration is really determined to get some progress here. Two: they’re bringing some pretty serious firepower to make some deals,» senior fellow and Director of the Hudson Institute’s Keystone Defense Initiative, Rebeccah Heinrichs, told Fox and Friends Wednesday morning. 

«It’s promising that Jared is there,» Heinrichs added, noting his prominent role in securing the Abraham Accords during the first Trump administration. 

Reports on Wednesday suggested that the pair intend to remain in Egypt alongside other mediating nations, including Qatar, for as long as it takes to secure a deal. 

Their arrival marked the third day of serious negotiations after Israeli and Hamas officials convened on Monday in the Egyptian coastal resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, located at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. 

The negotiations began after Trump late last month revealed a 20-point peace plan to end the war and return the hostages within a 72-hour window of an agreement being finalized.

TRUMP’S PEACE DEAL COULD END THE WAR IN GAZA OR NETANYAHU’S CAREER

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin talks to U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Shortly after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the terms before Trump began pushing Hamas to respond. 

Hamas appeared to accept the majority of the proposal over the weekend, though it flagged issues with certain elements of the 20-point blueprint, including the swift return of all the hostages, particularly the deceased hostages, some of whom it says are buried under rubble and, therefore, cannot be quickly retrieved. 

Reports also suggested Hamas took issue with the call for it to completely disarm and flagged distrust that Israel would hold up its end of the bargain by ending its military ambitions in the Gaza Strip once all the hostages are returned. 

Security experts have told Fox News Digital that Trump, after months of backing Israel’s aggressive military strategy in the Gaza Strip, is in a unique position to squeeze Netanyahu and force both sides to the negotiating table. 

Smoke rises from Gaza City seen from Deir al Balah, following intense Israeli military attacks on northern Gaza, on Oct. 5, 2025.  (Khames Alrefi/Getty Images)

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«It’s absolutely imperative for Israel’s long-term security and, frankly, for Netanyahu’s political future to keep the U.S. and Trump on side,» security expert and Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, John Hannah, told Fox News Digital. «A flat-out rejection and confrontation with the United States would have been disastrous for Netanyahu as well as for Israel.»

Netanyahu is facing a precarious political front at home with immense frustration by the public over his failure to return the hostages, but also within his own coalition, who see his negotiating with Hamas as a concession and collapse of his previous stated security aims. 

Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to charges of allegedly making false statements and obstruction of a congressional hearing during his first court appearance in Virginia on Wednesday.

The former FBI director appeared at 10 a.m. ET in the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in Alexandria, Va. Comey’s wife, Patrice, and daughter, Maureen, were spotted waiting in line outside the courthouse Wednesday morning.

District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, presided over the hearing. Comey’s lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, told Nachmanoff that representing Comey «is the honor of my life» and that his team would be filing motions alleging a vindictive and retaliatory prosecution as well as outrageous government conduct.

Nachmanoff set oral argument dates for Nov. 19 and Dec. 9 and a jury trial to begin on Jan. 5, 2026. 

COMEY INDICTED FOR ALLEGED FALSE STATEMENTS, OBSTRUCTION OF CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDING

The only time Comey spoke during the hearing was when the judge asked if he understood the charges against him.

«I do your honor,» Comey said. «Thank you very much.»

Comey was indicted in September by a federal grand jury on two counts: alleged false statements within jurisdiction of the legislative branch and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

The indictment alleges that Comey obstructed a congressional investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information in violation of 18 USC 1505.

The indictment also alleges Comey made a false statement when he stated he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment, that statement was false.

Fox News Digital exclusively reported in July that Comey was under criminal investigation by the FBI. The probe into Comey centered on whether he lied to Congress during his Sept. 30, 2020, testimony about his handling of the original Trump–Russia probe at the FBI, known inside the bureau as «Crossfire Hurricane.»

«No one is above the law,» Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X after the indictment, adding that it «reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.»

Former FBI Director James Comey is seen at a hearing on Capitol Hill in 2017. (Associated Press)

COMEY DENIES CHARGES, DECLARES ‘I AM NOT AFRAID’

FBI Director Kash Patel said «previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust.»

«Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on,» Patel said. «Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose.»

He added: «Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch.»

Comey, after being indicted, posted an Instagram video, denying the allegations.

«My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,» he said. «We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she’s right.»

«But I’m not afraid,» Comey added.

«My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial and keep the faith,» Comey said.

Fox News Digital also exclusively reported that former CIA Director John Brennan is under criminal investigation related to the Trump–Russia probe. 

Under federal law, prosecutors have five years to bring a charge, with the five-year mark occurring Tuesday.

TRUMP SAYS COMEY ‘PLACED A CLOUD OVER THE ENTIRE NATION’ WITH CROSSFIRE HURRICANE, REACTS TO INDICTMENT

The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The FBI opened its Trump-Russia probe in July 2016, known inside the bureau as «Crossfire Hurricane.» 

Robert Mueller, former special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice.  (AP newsroom; Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Mike Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times)

President Donald Trump, during his first term, fired Comey in May 2017. 

Days later, Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel to take over the FBI’s original «Crossfire Hurricane» investigation.

After nearly two years, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which concluded in March 2019, yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election.

Shortly after, John Durham was appointed as special counsel to investigate the origins of the «Crossfire Hurricane» probe.

EXCLUSIVE: FBI LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS OF JOHN BRENNAN, JAMES COMEY: DOJ SOURCES

Durham found that the FBI «failed to act» on a «clear warning sign» that the bureau was the «target» of a Clinton-led effort to «manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes» ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Fox News Digital broke a series of stories related to Special Counsel John Durham’s findings.  (Julia Nikhinson/Reuters)

«The aforementioned facts reflect a rather startling and inexplicable failure to adequately consider and incorporate the Clinton Plan intelligence into the FBI’s investigative decision-making in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation,» Durham’s report states.

«Indeed, had the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation as an assessment and, in turn, gathered and analyzed data in concert with the information from the Clinton Plan intelligence, it is likely that the information received would have been examined, at a minimum, with a more critical eye,» the report continued.

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Durham, in his report, said the FBI «failed to act on what should have been — when combined with other incontrovertible facts — a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election.»

Fox News’ Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago contributed to this report.