The foreign policy analyst wrote in a Saturday Substack post that he believes the article “was designed to trigger” the State Department to revoke his green card and deport him.

“I have fought the neocons and warmongers in Washington for more than 25 years. Throughout, they have tried to silence, discredit, slander, and cancel me. Only recently, however, have they tried to deport me.”

The Free Press story by contributing writer Jay Solomon alleged the State Department launched an investigation of Parsi and could try to deport him, citing anonymous U.S. officials and documents. Parsi has dual Iranian and Swedish citizenships and is a legal U.S. Permanent Resident.

But the State Department denied the central claim the day after publication.

A department official told the Turkish state-run outlet Anadolu Agency the department “has no plans to revoke the green card of Mr. Parsi at this time.”

I have fought the neocons and warmongers in Washington for more than 25 years. Throughout, they have tried to silence, discredit, slander, and cancel me. Only recently, however, have they tried to deport me.

At least, that appears to have been the aim of a hit piece in Bari… pic.twitter.com/SbhNJ6XdDH

— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) June 13, 2026

Parsi went further in his Substack post, raising the possibility that The Free Press’s source was a “rogue” government actor trying to manufacture external pressure for an investigation that didn’t exist.

“I don’t believe there was any investigation against me,” Parsi wrote. “Rather, some elements within the State Department wanted to start one and thought external pressure could help move things forward.”

He cited weeks of social media campaigns by pro-Israel influencers urging the U.S. government to deport him, including an AI-generated video showing him being arrested by ICE — which he called “quite amusing.”

The Free Press and its founder Bari Weiss are strongly pro-Israel. The outlet posted a YouTube video titled “A Message for Iran Regime Apologists” two weeks after the Iran war began.

Solomon’s story noted that Parsi “has long drawn the ire of many Iranian Americans, who believe he uses his residency and legitimacy in the U.S. to amplify the [Iranian] regime’s talking points.” The article referenced a 2020 letter from Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton calling for an investigation into an Iranian-American advocacy group Parsi founded.

Parsi fired back by pointing out Solomon was fired from The Wall Street Journal in 2017 over financial involvement in arms deals with a businessman who was also one of his key sources.

Born in Iran, Parsi moved with his family to Sweden at age four in the late 1970s. The family were Zoroastrian and fled the political turmoil preceding the Iranian Revolution. Parsi’s father was a political opponent of both the Shah and the ayatollah who deposed him, according to the Quincy Institute.

In an interview with Current Affairs magazine two weeks after the Iran war began, Parsi said the Trump administration lacked a coherent justification for the conflict.

“[O]ne of the things that has made it utterly clear that this war is not justified is the constant shifting justifications used by the administration and its supporters,” he told the magazine.

Parsi claims the alleged deportation effort backfired, citing an outpouring of support from across the political spectrum. Neither The Free Press, Weiss, nor the State Department immediately responded to requests for comment.

Solidarity w/ Trita Parsi, the Iranian-American analyst (& friend of Katie Halper Show) who is allegedly being investigated by Trump Admin. I say allegedly bc it’s possible that the story is an attempt to scare & silence anti-war voices & pressure… https://t.co/gwbWkYiTpH

— Katie Halper (@kthalps) June 12, 2026

In an interview with The Guardian published this week, French Gates recalled her past encounters with the disgraced financier and described him as someone she instantly viewed with suspicion.

Asked whether she had ever been around someone she believed was evil, French Gates pointed directly to Epstein.

“We need to listen to our feelings about people.”

The topic appeared to stir strong emotions. The Guardian reported that French Gates considered ending the interview as she discussed Epstein.

“My heart is racing,” she said while looking out the window of her Seattle home with her hand on her chest, according to the report.

French Gates’ comments revisit a subject that has remained a source of public attention since her 2021 divorce from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

In previous interviews, she has acknowledged concerns about her former husband’s meetings with Epstein after the financier had already pleaded guilty to sex-related charges involving a minor.

French Gates has previously said she met Epstein once and regretted doing so. At the time, she described the encounter as deeply unsettling and said she made her feelings known to her then-husband.

Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.

The case fueled years of scrutiny over his relationships with prominent political, business, and cultural figures — many of whom faced questions about the nature of their interactions with him.

In the Guardian interview, French Gates did not elaborate on specific encounters with Epstein but emphasized the importance of trusting personal instincts when evaluating people.

Her comments came during a broader discussion about relationships, judgment, and lessons learned through personal and professional experiences.

The facility at the center of the controversy — Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed immigration detention center — was re-opened last year and immediately drew outrage from Democrats capitalizing on broader left-wing opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka thrust himself into the spotlight at that time, conveniently as he was campaigning to be the state’s next governor.

Where were these complaints during the Obama administration, as the same facility operated as an ICE Processing Center from 2011-2017 with minimal Democratic outcry?

The complaints made now by Sen. Andy Kim and Gov. Mikie Sherrill, along with dozens of protesters they joined, were made last year — a blend of baseless claims about conditions and general anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rhetoric.

But during the Obama administration, the same facility operated as an ICE Processing Center from 2011-2017 with minimal Democratic outcry. No mayors banging on doors. No senators demanding access.

Some have pointed to the death of an inmate in December from natural causes. But 336 people died in New Jersey state correctional facilities between 2018 and 2024 — an average of 48 people per year. Of those, 83% were natural deaths.

For additional context, there were 33 deaths in ICE facilities nationwide in 2025, far fewer than the average numbers of deaths in New Jersey correctional facilities alone.

Have there been protests outside New Jersey correctional facilities? Has the governor been banging on prison doors demanding access? Of course not.

The furor also ignores how New Jersey happily brings in millions of federal taxpayer dollars from its own housing of illegal aliens. New Jersey received over $4 million in fiscal year 2024 alone to pay for illegal aliens in New Jersey Department of Corrections custody under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP).

Delaney Hall employs some 300 workers with good union jobs and was estimated to bring $50 million per year in economic activity.

Additionally, it’s worth considering the economic benefits the state receives due to Delaney Hall. There are some 300 workers employed at the facility, with good union jobs, and the opening was estimated to bring $50 million per year in economic activity.

Claims about conditions at Delaney Hall, which some politicians have incorrectly described as “torture,” ignore the reality that ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons, including those in New Jersey.

Detainees are provided with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, and access to communications with lawyers.

New Jersey politicians may be eager to snag a quick political photo-op as they gear up for a midterm battle this November, but responsible public service includes stating the facts about what is actually happening — as well as being consistent in your outrage.

New Jersey Democrats, by that standard, are doing a disservice to ICE staff and to their own constituents.

Donna Robinson was terminated following her public comments about the case, in which she stated Anthony would likely be “protected” in prison and added racial attacks on the victim’s family.

“I’m just glad we didn’t have to bury another Black child. Let them start burying some of theirs for a change. FK’em I said what I said.”

The TDCJ confirmed Robinson’s termination to The Dallas Morning News after Libs of TikTok exposed screenshots of her Facebook post Friday.

This woman claims to be on the Board of Pardons and Parole in Texas

She allegedly posted this after Karmelo Anthony was found guilty.

We reached out to @TDCJ but they declined to respond pic.twitter.com/OBxn2rRsdg

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 12, 2026

Robinson had written she was a “parole supervisor at TX DCJ” and assured readers Anthony “will be protected on the inside.” She went further, stating she didn’t “give fk about the family’s loss” and calling them “fking bigots.”

The TDCJ issued a statement saying Robinson’s comments were “incompatible with TDCJ policy and values.”

“These statements… demonstrate bias and a lack of the impartiality essential to the fair administration of justice in Texas,” the agency said. “Discriminatory or inflammatory conduct that erodes public confidence in the criminal justice system will not be tolerated.”

The statement noted employees are regularly expected to make workplace decisions free from bias.

Anthony, 19, was convicted of murdering Austin Metcalf, 17, whom he fatally stabbed at a high school track meet. He received a 35-year prison sentence.

The move has drawn sharp pushback from the union representing TSA officers.

TSA announced the program in a May 14 internal memo and posted a pre-solicitation notice the next day on SAM.gov, the federal contracting database, before hosting an industry day at its Springfield, Va., headquarters on May 21.

The agency framed Gold+ as the next evolution of its existing Screening Partnership Program, under which private firms already staff checkpoints at roughly 20 U.S. airports, including San Francisco International and Kansas City International.

Under the SPP, TSA owns the screening machines. Under Gold+, contractors would also own and operate the equipment, while TSA would retain regulatory oversight and set outcome-based security standards.

“TSA would, in theory, provide oversight. In practice, the federal government would be ceding direct operational control of the most sensitive technology in the aviation security enterprise to private vendors.”

The agency is selling the model as a hedge against the budget paralysis that gutted checkpoint staffing over the past 16 months.

Two government shutdowns in fiscal 2025 and 2026 left TSA officers working without reliable pay for nearly four months combined, and more than 1,000 officers have left the agency since February, according to the House Homeland Security Committee.

Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill signaled at an April 16 hearing that the agency was considering expanding the use of private screeners to mitigate the impact of future funding lapses.

That argument met its sharpest challenge at a May 20 hearing convened by Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents about 45,000 transportation security officers, told the committee that Gold+ would shift the most sensitive equipment in the aviation security system out of federal hands.

Kelley also rejected the shutdown-resilience argument outright, noting that private screening firms draw from the same DHS appropriation that funds federal officers.

“Private contractors face the same risks from funding lapses as the federal agencies that pay them,” he said. “The solution to a political failure is not to outsource a core domestic and national security function.”

Trump’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal would compound the change by eliminating 8,400 TSO positions, mandating participation in the SPP at all small and non-hub airports, and expanding private screening from about 20 airports to roughly 220.

TSA accepted industry feedback on a draft Performance Work Statement through May 25 and has not announced a formal solicitation date or named participating airports, though the agency’s internal memo said “a handful” had expressed interest.

As of Saturday, TSA had not responded to requests for additional information.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), sought individual voter files from election officials in Texas and North Carolina, according to Axios.

In Webb County, Texas, and Forsyth County, North Carolina, local officials provided the requested information to HSI.

The requests followed an April inquiry from an HSI criminal analyst to the Texas Secretary of State’s office seeking guidance on obtaining voter information.

“Pursuant to ongoing investigations, I am seeking information referencing obtaining voter information; specifically dates and methods of registration, elections voted in, etc.”

Democracy Forward, which obtained the records through public-records requests, criticized the effort.

Senior Oversight Counsel Dan McGrath said, “Using ICE to pursue a problem this rare should concern everyone. Americans have a right to understand the full scope of the administration’s actions.”

Webb County Elections Administrator Jose Castillo told the outlet he had never seen similar requests before and questioned the value of the investigations.

“There’s nothing there. But I get it, you’ve got to do your job,” Castillo said.

He added that he has seen only two cases of noncitizen voting among more than 150,000 registered voters during his four years in office.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the effort.

A DHS spokesperson said, “HSI is actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found.”

The spokesperson added, “We have repeatedly demonstrated that illegal aliens can and do vote in our elections.”

“Under President Trump, HSI is committed to restoring integrity to our election systems and ensuring that American citizens and only American citizens are electing American leaders.”

Axios also reported that Heather Honey, DHS’s deputy assistant secretary for election integrity, has been in contact with Texas election officials and said the agency “has engaged with every state secretary or chief election official.”

The development follows President Trump’s March 2025 executive order directing federal agencies to strengthen election-security efforts and prevent noncitizens from registering to vote.

DHS has also promoted the use of the SAVE database to verify citizenship status of registered voters.

The ICE requests come amid growing legal battles over federal access to voter information.

In March, watchdog group American Oversight sued the Department of Justice and ICE after the agencies allegedly failed to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests seeking records related to the collection, sharing, and use of voter data.

In May, DOJ officials maintained that federal law grants the department authority to access voter-registration data for election oversight and enforcement purposes.

The department has requested statewide voter-registration lists from multiple states and has pursued legal action in some cases when jurisdictions declined to provide records.

Voting-rights advocates and some election officials have challenged those efforts, arguing that expanded federal access raises voter-privacy concerns and could discourage participation in elections.

Don Overton, a US Army veteran who lost his eyesight during Desert Storm from a bunker explosion, inspired the initiative.

“When I lost my eyesight in Desert Storm from a bunker explosion, I also lost my independence. The moment I put on my Ray-Ban Meta glasses, I got my independence back.”

The AI-powered eyewear helps wearers identify objects, read text aloud, and manage everyday tasks through voice commands. Eligible veterans can request their pair through the Blinded Veterans Association website.

Each pair comes with comprehensive training resources. Monthly webinars hosted by the Blinded Veterans Association in partnership with TechSoup provide live question-and-answer sessions. In-person events organized by Meta and partner organizations take place across the country, where veterans receive hands-on guidance and connect with other program participants.

Meta President Dina Powell McCormick said the company worked with Overton and the wearables team to build features specifically for veterans. The initiative represents a collaboration between Meta and veteran service organizations including the Blinded Veterans Association, Tunnel to Towers Foundation, Homes for Our Troops, and American Council of the Blind.

Andrew Bosworth, Meta Chief Technology Officer, said: “These veterans sacrificed their sight in service to our country. Giving them technology that can meaningfully navigate the world around them is a profound honor for us.”

Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of Tunnel to Towers Foundation, called the program “far more than a pair of glasses — it’s the ability to read a letter, navigate the world, and reclaim their independence.”

Federal appeals courts have rejected attempts by unions and immigrant advocacy organizations to block the rules, which limit CDLs for non-U.S.-domiciled drivers and require stricter vetting of foreign truckers.

“We will only issue a visa if the applicant demonstrates the necessary skills, experience, and English language proficiency required to safely operate these vehicles in the United States. We will not compromise on Americans’ safety.”

The crackdown follows several fatal crashes involving unauthorized foreign drivers. In October, police arrested a 21-year-old Indian semi-truck driver for allegedly killing three people and hospitalizing four others in a highway accident. The Biden-Harris administration released him into the U.S. after he illegally entered in 2022.

The Department of Transportation released interim rules in September and final rules in February severely limiting CDLs for people not domiciled in the U.S. The restrictions came after Trump’s April executive order demanding stricter CDL screenings for road safety.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued 20,000 English Language Proficiency violations since June 2025 and forced states to cancel 28,000 illegally issued licenses through a nationwide audit, according to agency statements.

The Trump Admin will continue to strictly enforce laws to keep America’s highways safe. No one will be allowed behind the wheel of any commercial vehicle—unless they are in this country legally, properly trained, and proficient in ENGLISH.

American lives depend on it. pic.twitter.com/KKB9hFMFpb

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 12, 2025

Government worker and teachers unions, the AFL-CIO and individual drivers challenged the federal CDL restrictions in an October lawsuit led by Public Citizen. They argued the DOT did not establish a public safety threat tied to immigration and skipped proper public disclosure procedure.

Public Citizen has received more than $4 million from Tides Foundation and George Soros’ Open Society Policy Center since 2018, tax filings show.

Washington’s federal appeals court declined to strike down the rule in May. Claims that the immigration-based restrictions are “arbitrary” are unlikely to succeed, the court wrote.

“Rather than branding foreign drivers as uniquely dangerous, the [DOT] seeks instead to ensure that their vetting is no less rigorous than that of drivers domiciled in the United States,” the ruling says. “Such an overall approach is unlikely to be condemned as arbitrary.”

The Chinese American Truckers Association argued in a January lawsuit that the DOT’s rule harms “otherwise-qualified commercial drivers” without providing reasonable pathways to obtain CDLs. Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal ruled days later that “the public interest plainly and substantially weighs against” the group’s demands. Both sides agreed to dismiss the case that month.

Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) August 21, 2025

Trump’s revamped vetting policies for foreign CDL applicants now involve the DOT, Labor Department, DHS and the State Department as of December. The State Department is applying strict standards to every visa applicant seeking to operate a commercial truck in the U.S., including English language skills, a valid U.S.-issued or U.S.-recognized CDL, and a prior history of safe commercial truck operation.

Immigration agents have arrested 338 illegal migrant truck drivers and CDL holders in Indiana, California and Oklahoma from October to December, according to DHS press releases.

The author of the Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels — a vicar’s daughter who loved God, cigarettes, whiskey, and her motorcycle — delivered a speech to a women’s society in 1938 that predicted exactly where aggressive feminism would lead Western civilization.

She didn’t mince words about modern feminism’s dangers.

“Under present conditions, an aggressive feminism might do more harm than good.”

Sayers warned that women copying men’s worst behaviors — not their achievements — was destroying genuine progress. She pointed to university women imitating male undergraduates’ drunken antics as an example of feminism gone wrong.

“To climb in drunk after hours and get gated is silly and harmless if done out of pure high spirits; if it is done ‘because the men do it,’ it is worse than silly, because it is not spontaneous and not even amusing,” she wrote in her speech, later published in the collection “Are Women Human?”

Her sharpest warning came in the speech’s conclusion — a prediction that reads like commentary on today’s culture war.

“To oppose one class perpetually to another — young against old, manual labour against brain-worker, rich against poor, woman against man — is to split the foundations of the State; and if the cleavage runs too deep, there remains no remedy but force and dictatorship.”

Sayers argued that free democracy depends on treating people as individuals — not category members. “If you wish to preserve a free democracy, you must base it — not on classes and categories, for this will land you in the totalitarian State, where no one may act or think except as the member of a category,” she wrote.

The author lived a life that defied easy categorization. She gave birth to a son out of wedlock before her first novel was published, gave the child up for fostering, and never publicly acknowledged him. She created the famous Guinness toucan advertising campaign in the 1930s. She was friends with C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams, though fellow Oxford graduate J.R.R. Tolkien loathed her books for their depictions of sexuality.

Today’s gender wars — the relentless attacks on masculinity, the viral “man or bear” debates, the collectivist framing of sex relations — prove Sayers understood human nature better than most modern commentators.

She recognized what ideologues on both Right and Left still refuse to admit: pitting the sexes against each other as opposing classes threatens individual freedom itself.

Sayers called it nearly a century ago. The West should have listened.

The bombshell report published June 12 claims most of the sources are current or former employees of Unwell, Cooper’s media network, and are primarily women in their 20s.

Vanity Fair has spoken to more than 40 sources, at least 30 of whom are current or former Unwell employees—most of them women in their 20s—about their experiences with Alex Cooper and her husband, Matt Kaplan, the company’s cofounder and co-CEO.

Where’s the line between… pic.twitter.com/AzgVj9Aiz5

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) June 12, 2026

Kaplan, the company’s co-CEO, was described as the “puppeteer” in the explosive piece — with Cooper standing by and watching.

The allegations include yelling that brought producers to tears, inappropriate sexual questioning, and abusive language. One source told Vanity Fair, “Matt creates the most toxic work environment that I’ve ever seen.”

“I’ve seen producers cry.”

Another former employee said Kaplan would ask employees, “Who did you have sex with this weekend?” and “What did you do this weekend? Who did you fuck?” according to the report.

Sources claimed Kaplan used words like “stupid” and “retarded” when referring to employees and threatened their careers. One witness said Cooper was present when Kaplan screamed “the nastiest things” at people — but failed to intervene or defend her staff.

A representative for Cooper and Kaplan called the allegations “false and outrageous.”

The report surfaced months after Cooper ousted influencer Alix Earle from Unwell in February 2025, publicly declaring, “We do not stand for mean girls at this company.”

Sources told Vanity Fair that statement rang hollow. One said, “what I found is, behind the scenes, there’s this man, her husband, running around wreaking havoc and making people cry, cower [in] fear.”

Cooper’s public image as a feminist champion stood in sharp contrast to the accounts from inside Unwell, where employees described a culture where she allowed Kaplan to dominate and abuse staff without stepping in.