Actor George Clooney claimed during a recent interview that new editorial chief Bari Weiss is “dismantling CBS News as we speak,” wringing his hands about a possible future in which the United States would be forced to operate “without a functioning press.”

Clooney did not just single out CBS News in the interview, a cover story published by Variety. In fact, he argued that a number of legacy media outlets had lost their footing when they settled various lawsuits with President Donald Trump.

“If CBS and ABC had challenged those lawsuits and said, ‘Go, f*** yourself,’ we wouldn’t be where we are in the country,” Clooney says. “That’s simply the truth.”

Clooney cited the ABC News lawsuit and suggested that the network should have fought harder — in spite of the fact that longtime anchor George Stephanopoulos had been warned “so many times” prior to his broadcast not to say that Trump had been found “liable for rape” because it was demonstrably untrue. The anchor’s failure to comply with that directive cost the network millions.

His main beef was with the new direction taken by CBS News under new Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss — who was offered the job by David Ellison, Skydance founder and Paramount chairman, after a merger.

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“Bari Weiss is dismantling CBS News as we speak. Am I worried about film studios? Sure. It’s my business, but my primary loyalty is to my country. I’m much more worried about how we inform ourselves and how we’re going to discern reality without a functioning press,” he complained.

Clooney, who is largely credited with turning the tide against former President Joe Biden in the summer of 2024, has been very critical of President Trump — a former friend of his — as well.

“It’s a very trying time. It can depress you or make you very angry. But you have to find the most positive way through it. You have to put your head down and keep moving forward because quitting isn’t an option,” he said, adding of Trump, “I knew him very well. He used to call me a lot, and he tried to help me get into a hospital once to see a back surgeon. I’d see him out at clubs and see him out at restaurants. He’s a big goofball. Well, he was. That all changed.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer called for the federal government to deport all Somali fraudsters roaming throughout Minnesota.

In a statement shared on X Tuesday, Emmer also called for the “denaturalization” of any Somali immigrants who obtained United States citizenship and were tied to the fraud in his home state.

The Trump administration has already commenced a broader effort to strip the citizenship of foreign-born individuals who engaged in fraud, instructing federal authorities to present 100 to 200 such cases per month.

“I have three words regarding Somalis who have committed fraud against American taxpayers: Send them home. If they’re here illegally, deport them immediately; if they’re naturalized citizens, revoke their citizenship and deport them quickly thereafter. If we need to change the law to do that, I will,” Emmer said.

BREAKING: I’m calling for the denaturalization and deportation of every Somali engaged in fraud in Minnesota. Read my full statement below:

“I have three words regarding Somalis who have committed fraud against American taxpayers: Send them home. If they’re here illegally,…

— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) December 30, 2025

“Our nation will not tolerate those who take advantage of our charity and refuse to assimilate into our culture. Additionally, if any naturalized Somalis had undisclosed ties to terrorist organizations like Al-Shabaab, I want to see their citizenship revoked and their as*** sent back immediately. Same goes for anyone who is found to have committed marriage fraud during the immigration process,” he added.

Federal prosecutors recently revealed that at least $9 billion in taxpayer funds may have been stolen as part of a massive fraud scandal largely tied to Minnesota’s Somali community.

The accused fraudsters allegedly took cash from state welfare programs and funneled it through fake nonprofits and shell companies back to Somalia — and even Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab, City Journal reported last month.

A video posted by independent journalist Nick Shirley that has since gone viral allegedly showed that numerous daycare and learning centers in Minneapolis that received millions in taxpayer dollars had no children inside.

The feds have charged 98 individuals, 85 of whom are of Somali descent, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X Monday.