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The U.S. is staring down a potentially "serious long-term consequence" as a result of President Donald Trump's "discretionary" war in Iran, according to one expert.

Margaret Donovan, a former Army JAG lawyer, discussed the impacts of Trump's war in Iran on CNN's "NewsNight" with Abby Phillip on Wednesday. She noted that the war is having an impact both at home, due to the sharp rise in energy prices, and abroad, with U.S. allies in the region, who have expended a lot of their missile defense systems.

A CNN analyst was befuddled by the more than 2,000 videos he reviewed from the Jeffrey Epstein files that were released by President Donald Trump's Department of Justice.

Tom Foreman, a CNN correspondent, said during a segment on CNN's "The Source" with Kaitlan Collins that the files paint a "clear picture" of a "creepy guy" and raised questions about why so many people in his inner circle hung out with him. The videos show Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex criminal, discussing some menial items like landscaping his properties, as well as interviews from a documentary that former Trump whisperer Steve Bannon was making about Epstein.

Former GOP strategist Tara Setmayer had zero patience on Thursday's edition of MS NOW's "All In" in response to the explanation by Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) why he didn't feel the need to resign or face accountability for his actions, after being accused of an array of scandalous behavior, including sexual misconduct and domestic violence.

"I just want to be clear that he has not been charged with any crimes that are classified as assault," said anchor Chris Hayes. "And he is — he denies wrongdoing. So I just want to be clear about that, about where things stand. He is being investigated by the ethics committee. Tara, I want to play for you his own defense of himself. Why he says his is different than ... the two cases of Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell. Take a listen."

A legal expert was astounded by the "searing inconsistency" that President Donald Trump's Department of Justice is showing in a high-profile case during a podcast interview on Wednesday.

The Trump DOJ recently filed a superseding indictment against Brian Cole Jr., who has been accused of planting pipe bombs outside of the Democratic and Republican National Committees before the Jan. 6 insurrection. The new indictment charged Cole with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and committing an act of terrorism.

Republicans are staring down the barrel of a scenario few people thought possible, election forecaster Harry Enten told CNN's Erin Burnett on Wednesday: losing their Senate majority just one cycle after securing it.

Even one of Trump's closest Senate allies, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), admitted as much on the Benny Johnson Show this week, noted Burnett. She played a clip.

Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele had a withering response to new reports that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department related to the first impeachment of President Donald Trump, related to his efforts to extort the president of Ukraine.

This is part of a broader pattern of trying to bury Trump's criminality, Steele argued, that also extends to the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election that led to his second impeachment — and that Trump can't let go of even today.

A former Fox News host revealed a "scary" truth Wednesday underpinning President Donald Trump's latest shocking social media post during an interview on CNN.

On Sunday, Trump posted and then deleted an artificial intelligence-generated photo of himself appearing as Jesus Christ healing a sick man in bed. The photo also included pictures of military troops, the Statue of Liberty, and the American flag. The post sparked outrage among political analysts and observers, prompting Trump to eventually remove it.

A Fox News reporter was forced to admit to viewers on Wednesday that American enemies are helping Iran target U.S. troops.

Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin told viewers of "Special Report" with host Bret Baier that the station had confirmed exclusive reporting from the Financial Times that showed Iran was receiving spy satellites from China, and the intel from which has been used to attack American military troops in the region. The report adds to a growing account that suggests President Donald Trump may be ignoring the impact adversarial countries like Russia and China are having in the war in Iran.

A Democratic senator excoriated her Republican colleagues during an interview on CNN on Wednesday for failing to rein in President Donald Trump.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined CNN's Phil Mattingly on "The Lead" to discuss the war in Iran. Baldwin argued that Trump has broken promises to his voters by starting the war, yet Republicans have been unwilling to hold the president accountable in a meaningful way.

SantaCon founder Stefan Pildes was mocked to his face after the FBI arrested him on wire fraud charges.

Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York alleged on Wednesday that Pildes diverted more than $2.7 million raised for charity to his personal expenses.

President Donald Trump has had an uneasy but reliable alliance with the Christian Right for over a decade, MS NOW's McKay Coppins said on Wednesday's edition of "Katy Tur Reports" — and now, after Trump has made clear he doesn't even care to go through the motions of behaving like a Christian, they are running out of excuses to keep going.

"I mean, it's like something that they were sort of used to and that they would not hold him to the same standard that they have," said Lincoln Project adviser Stuart Stevens. And I think all of that's gotten very old. And at a certain point, you do want to look at the White House and feel aspirational. When Bush ran in 2000, that was his number one message that worked well. People want to look at the White House and feel good about it, and I think now forgetting, you know, your own political sense, what is there to feel good about?"

President Donald Trump's own supporters are starting to realize his mental health is diminished and his behavior reckless after his repeated slights against the Christian faith, MS NOW's Katy Tur argued on Wednesday.

This comes as even House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) says he was "taken aback" by Trump's public attack on Pope Leo XIV for criticizing war in Iran.