The Vances Visit Greenland, Major MS-13 Arrest, Stefanik Withdraws Her UN Nomination: AM Update 3⧸28
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Summary
J.D. Vance in Greenland today, scaling back plans after a lack of hospitality from Greenlandic and Danish officials. Attorney General Pam Bondi announces the capture of a high-profile MS-13 gang member, President Trump asks New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to withdraw her nomination for UN ambassador, and new details in the mysterious death of former U.S. attorney Jessica Aber.
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Friday, March 28th, 2025, and this is your
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AM Update. We want to reinvigorate the security of the people of Greenland because we think
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it's important to protecting the security of the entire world. Vice President J.D. Vance
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in Greenland today, scaling back plans following a lack of hospitality from Greenlandic and
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Danish officials. He was the leader for the East Coast, one of the top three in the entire
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country, right here in Virginia, living half an hour outside of Washington, D.C. Attorney
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General Pam Bondi announcing the capture of a high-profile MS-13 gang member. RFKJ announcing
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a streamlining of the sprawling HHS department. President Trump asks New York Congresswoman
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Elise Stefanik to withdraw her nomination for U.N. ambassador. And new details in the mysterious
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death of former U.S. attorney Jessica Aber. All that and more coming up in just a moment
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Vice President J.D. Vance in Greenland today, along with Second Lady Usha Vance,
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National Security Advisor Mike Walls, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The agenda now a scaled
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back version of what was originally planned. The trip announced on Sunday, billed as a solo
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goodwill visit for Ms. Vance to absorb and learn about Greenland's culture. Ms. Vance had planned a
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tour of the capital, Nook, as Mr. Waltz and Secretary Wright visited the U.S. Space Force base in
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Bidoufique, about 600 miles away. Mr. Waltz's inclusion on the trip sparking backlash from
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Greenlandic and Danish officials as President Trump vows to acquire the semi-autonomous territory,
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quote, one way or another. The goodwill souring when a Greenland tourism business,
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Tupelok Travel, canceled the planned meet-and-greet event with the Second Lady. The business,
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posting to Facebook, quote, we have now informed the consulate that we do not want her visit,
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as we cannot accept the underlying agenda and will not be part of the press show.
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Shortly after that public snub, Vice President Vance announcing he would join the trip himself,
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posting this message to X. A lot of other countries have threatened Greenland,
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have threatened to use its territories and its waterways to threaten the United States,
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to threaten Canada, and of course to threaten the people of Greenland. So we're going to check out
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how things are going there. And I say that speaking for President Trump, we want to reinvigorate
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the security of the people of Greenland because we think it's important to protecting the security
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of the entire world. The delegation now only scheduled to visit the U.S. Space Force base.
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Trips to U.S. bases by American officials are generally considered routine and non-controversial.
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Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Luka Rasmussen saying, quote,
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I think it's very positive that the Americans have canceled their visit among Greenlandic society.
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They will only visit their own base, Bidoufiq, and we have nothing against that.
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President Trump on Wednesday doubling down on his desire to take control of the Arctic island.
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We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it. And
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it's an island that, from a defensive posture and even offensive posture, is something we need,
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especially with the world the way it is. And we're going to have to have it. And so I hate to put it
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that way, but we're going to have to have it. The trip marking Vice President Vance's and NSA
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Waltz's first overseas trip since The Atlantic magazine reported that its editor-in-chief,
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was somehow admitted into a private signal messaging group used by senior administration
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officials. The message is revealing debate among top intel officials on the pros and cons of
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attacking Houthi rebels in order to break their hold on an important global shipping lane.
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Mr. Vance writing in the chat, quote, if you think we should do it, let's go. I just hate
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bailing Europe out again. The Wall Street Journal reporting, quote, European leaders had hoped that
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Vice President Vance's antagonism was a political show to build domestic support. Officials are
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coming to terms with a vocal vice president whose antipathy for Europe appears to run deep.
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In recent months, Mr. Vance making waves on the world stage, delivering a clear message on behalf
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of the president. The United States will support its allies, but only if they act like friends.
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The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia. It's not China. It's not
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any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within the retreat of Europe
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from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.
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Do you think that it's respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack
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the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?
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President Trump making it a key priority of his second administration,
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getting European allies to step up and pay their fair share.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi early Thursday morning announcing a major arrest.
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Early this morning, one of the top leaders of MS-13 was apprehended. He was the leader for the
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East Coast, one of the top three in the entire country, right here in Virginia, living half an
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hour outside of Washington, D.C. He is an illegal alien from El Salvador, and he will not be living
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in our country much longer. The suspect, 24-year-old Henry Josue Villatoro Santos. The charges against him
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and where he is currently being held, not yet released. Virginia is not a sanctuary state,
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but several localities, mostly in northern Virginia, where Mr. Santos was arrested,
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have policies barring local officials from cooperating with the feds. The operation,
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a joint effort between federal, state, and local officials. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin
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describing the cooperation leading to the arrest. This task force was architected in a very quick
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period of time and stood up immediately. And in fact, when Director Patel was confirmed within a
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day, he authorized this facility and these capabilities, General Bondi immediately came to
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lead it. And we found ourselves with truly one-of-a-kind resources going to work. And the minute that we had
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partners that would do this with us, then lists of five, six, seven hundred targets could be put together
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in collaboration with state police and federal authorities and our Department of Corrections.
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Critically important, and I cannot emphasize enough, the collaboration and support and leadership
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out of the new administration that is so different than what we saw in at least the previous three
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years of my administration. MS-13 is one of the most violent gangs in the world. Originally forming in
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the 1980s on the streets of Los Angeles, now based in El Salvador, the gang extends into Honduras,
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Guatemala, and Mexico with thousands of members. Members are often required to commit a murder to
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gain membership. Their motto? Kill, rape, control. The gang responsible for many gruesome, high-profile
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murders in America. In 2017, a female member lured the group of men into a Long Island park where they were
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hacked to death in a planned ambush. Dozens of reports outlining similar instances of brutality
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against Americans. FBI Director Kash Patel remarking at the press conference the work of their task force
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is far from finished. This is a mandate we have. Right now we have an American dying every seven minutes
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from a drug overdose. That is a national security crisis we have not seen ever before. We have a woman
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or child being raped every six and a half minutes in this country. We have a homicide twice an hour.
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No part of that metric is a safe and secure America. But thanks to the brave leadership of
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this administration and the folks that you see here, we are returning our communities to safety.
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The Virginia Homeland Security Task Force arresting more than 340 of their 575 illegal alien targets.
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Secretary of Health and Human Services RFKJ announcing a restructuring of the sprawling department he
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oversees. 28 great divisions will become 15. The entire federal workforce is downsizing now,
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so this will be a painful period for HHS as we downsize from 82,000 full-time employees to around
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62,000. We're keenly focused on paring away excess administrators while increasing the number of
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scientists and frontline health providers so that we can do a better job for the American people.
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The new umbrella group for the streamlined departments will be called the Administration
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for a Healthy America, or AHA, a nod to the MAHA movement. The new department combining offices
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handling addiction, toxic substances, occupational safety, mental health, and others. In late
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February, the Office of Budget and Management issuing a memorandum directing federal agencies to prepare
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plans to downsize. Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, about 10,000 HHS employees
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accepting buyout offers. RFKJ's plan will cut about another 10,000. Secretary Kennedy says his
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department is filled with tremendous bloat and redundancies. During the Biden administration,
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HHS's budget increased by 38 percent and its staffing increased by 17 percent, but all that money
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has failed to improve the health of Americans. In fact, the rate of chronic disease and cancer
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increased dramatically as our department has grown. When I arrived, I found that over half of our employees
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don't even come to work. HHS has more than 100 communications offices and more than 40 IT
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departments and dozens of procurement offices and nine HR departments. In many cases, they don't even
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talk to each other. HHS operates under a budget of $1.7 trillion. RFKJ saying this restructuring will
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save the department about $1.8 billion each year. Democrats? Not thrilled. The Trump administration
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is endangering your family to make more room in their budget for tax breaks for billionaires and big
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corporations. These anti-vaxxers are slashing vaccine research and at the very same time dedicating
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resources to launch vaccine conspiracy investigations and resurrect debunked science. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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is using the Department of Health and Human Services to do the bidding of Elon Musk and Donald Trump
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it is a make America sick again agenda. Secretary Kennedy maintains no core functions of the
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department will be compromised. The announcement on the heels of two big confirmations within HHS.
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On Tuesday, Stanford professor Dr. Jay Bhattacharya confirmed on a party line vote as head of the NIH.
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Wow. Dr. Bhattacharya, an early critic of COVID lockdowns, promising to open up robust scientific debate
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within his organization. It was just three years ago he was being smeared as a fringe doctor by
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Fauci and Collins. The Senate also confirming Dr. Marty McCary of Johns Hopkins as commissioner of the
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FDA. Three Democrats joining Republicans to confirm Dr. McCary, New Hampshire Senators Maggie Hassan and
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Jean Shaheen, as well as Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. Both doctors, key allies of President Trump and
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Secretary Kennedy committed to carrying out the administration's vision of making America healthy
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again. Coming up, President Trump asks New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to withdraw her nomination
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for U.N. ambassador. And new details emerge in the untimely death of former U.S. attorney Jessica Aber.
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President Trump requesting that New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik withdraw her nomination
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for ambassador to the United Nations. Mr. Trump writing on Truth Social, quote,
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as we advance our America First agenda, it is essential that we maintain every Republican seat
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in Congress. We must be unified to accomplish our mission, and Elise Stefanik has been a vital part
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of our efforts from the very beginning. With a very tight majority, I don't want to take a chance on
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anyone else running for Elise's seat. Congresswoman Stefanik will rejoin the House Republican leadership
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ranks. She stepped down from her position as conference chair following her nomination to the
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U.N. The current balance of power in the House, standing at 218 to 213, giving Republicans a very
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narrow edge. That advantage could shrink further depending on the outcomes of four upcoming special
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elections. Ms. Stefanik, a close Trump ally, was one of the first nominations of the second Trump
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administration. The announcement made just days after the election. The congresswoman at age 30
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was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at the time in 2014 when she ran as a moderate. She was
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re-elected in 2016, embracing the MAGA agenda in the first Trump administration. In nominating her to
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the U.N., President Trump describing Ms. Stefanik as, quote, an incredibly strong, tough, and smart
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America first fighter. The president referencing moments like this one in December 2023 as she
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grilled the Ivy League president's handling of illegal displays of on-campus anti-Semitism.
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Do you understand your testimony is dehumanizing them? Do you understand that dehumanization is part
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of anti-Semitism? I will ask you one more time. Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate
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Harvard's rules of bullying and harassment, yes or no? It depends on the context. It does not depend
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on the context. The answer is yes, and this is why you should resign. These are unacceptable answers
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across the board. House Speaker Mike Johnson releasing a statement that reads, quote, there is no doubt
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Congresswoman Stefanik would have served with distinction as our ambassador to the U.N., but we are grateful for
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her willingness to sacrifice that position and remain in Congress to help us save the country. The
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House is currently working on major pieces of legislation involving the border, energy, and taxes.
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An update on the cause of death for former U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber. The family saying the 43-year-old
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died in her sleep, releasing a statement reading, quote, Jess suffered from epilepsy and epileptic seizures
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for many years. Ms. Aber was found unresponsive in her Alexandria, Virginia home on Saturday morning.
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The case will remain open until the office of the chief medical examiner completes its report.
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Police officials believe her death to be the result of natural causes. As U.S. Attorney for the Eastern
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District of Virginia, Ms. Aber oversaw many high-profile cases, including CIA leaks and international fraud.
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Her successor, U.S. Attorney Eric Siebert, offering in a statement, quote,
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quote, her professionalism, grace, and legal acumen set the standard. Though we are devastated by this
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loss, each of us in the Eastern District of Virginia will look to her example and endeavor
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to live up to it. And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for
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The Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash
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