President Donald Trump's administration has reached an agreement with Kyiv on the framework of a rare earth mineral deal that Ukrainian officials hope will strengthen ties with the Trump administration and lay the groundwork for a long-term U.S. security commitment.

Newsweek has reached out to the State Department and White House on Tuesday afternoon for comment.

The agreement could be finalized as soon as Friday, with plans underway for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to travel to Washington for a meeting with Trump, a Ukrainian official told the Associated Press.

Another official said the agreement would give Zelensky and Trump a chance to discuss ongoing military aid to Ukraine, making its finalization a priority for Kyiv. The agreement does not include security guarantees. One official said that this would be a topic for discussion when Zelensky and Trump meet.

Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said Tuesday he'd heard that Zelensky was coming and added that "it's okay with me, if he'd like to, and he would like to sign it together with me."

Trump called it "a very big deal," adding that it could be worth a trillion dollars. It could be whatever, but it's rare earths and other things."

Why This Matters

Negotiations on the deal have advanced despite a recent exchange of sharp rhetoric between Trump and Zelensky over their disagreements on the matter.

Zelensky resisted signing a proposal pushed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during his visit to Kyiv earlier this month and reiterated his objections days later in Munich during a meeting with Vice President JD Vance, arguing that the American plan lacked security guarantees.

In response, Trump criticized Zelensky, calling him "a dictator without elections" and claiming his support among voters was dwindling.

What to Know

Significant progress was made last week during a three-day visit to Ukraine by retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia.

A Ukrainian official stated that while some technical details still need to be finalized, the draft agreement no longer includes the Trump administration's contentious proposal to grant the U.S. $500 billion in profits from Ukraine's rare earth minerals as compensation for wartime aid.

Instead, the deal establishes joint ownership of a fund between the U.S. and Ukraine, with Ukraine committing to contribute 50 percent of future proceeds from state-owned resources, including minerals oil, and gas. One official described the terms as more favorable for investment, while another said Kyiv had secured key amendments and viewed the outcome as "positive."

Trump said Monday he is optimistic that the United States and Ukraine would soon reach an agreement on a rare earth minerals deal.

"It looks like we're getting very close," Trump told reporters at the start of his bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, during which they discussed the situation in Ukraine.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters on Tuesday that it was "critical that this deal is signed."

The deal reportedly excludes existing revenue-generating resources, such as those controlled by Naftogaz and Ukrnafta, Ukraine's largest gas and oil producers.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he would consider extending a potential rare earth metals exploration deal with the U.S. to Ukraine's occupied regions and called Russia "one of the undisputed leaders in reserves of these rare and rare earth metals."

"We have them in the North—in Murmansk, in the Caucasus—in Kabardino-Balkaria, in the Far East, in the Irkutsk region, and in Yakutia, in Tuva," Putin said. "These are quite capital-intensive investments, capital-intensive projects. We would be happy to work together with any foreign partners, including the Americans."

Putin added that Ukraine's annexed regions—what he calls Russia's "new territories"—are also rich in rare earth elements. However, the international community does not recognize Russia's annexation and continues to consider these regions part of Ukraine.

What People Are Saying

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's deputy prime minister and justice minister, told the Financial Times on Tuesday: "The minerals agreement is only part of the picture. We have heard multiple times from the US administration that it's part of a bigger picture."

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, told told Zarubin on Monday: "We would be ready to offer [cooperation] to our American partners—when I say 'partners,' I mean not only administrative and government structures, but also companies—if they showed interest in working together."

Scott Bessent, Trump's Secretary of the Treasury, told Fox News on Sunday: "We make money if the Ukrainian people make money."

What's Next

The deal remains a "framework agreement", with unresolved issues like U.S. stake size and jurisdiction, and it still requires approval from Ukraine's parliament, where it is expected to face debate.

Update: 2/25/25, 3:17 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update: 2/25/25, 3:26 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update: 2/25/25, 3:50 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update: 2/25/25, 4:07 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update: 2/25/25, 7:12 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Current and former FBI officials expressed shock and dismay Monday over the news that President Donald Trump had selected a right-wing podcaster and ardent FBI critic to be the bureau’s deputy director, even as the man picked for the job said he was ready to put partisanship aside. 

On his podcast, former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino — who once called the FBI “irredeemably corrupt”— thanked the president for the appointment and suggested that he was prepared to step out of his role as a MAGA warrior. But even as he did so, he repeated the baseless charge that the Justice Department had been “weaponized,” a claim he has frequently brandished to criticize the agency he will now help lead.

“I get it if you are a political opponent of mine that has been involved with proudly celebrating a weaponized justice system, how you don’t understand how a guy like me who discusses partisan content in an opinion show and go and do (an) unquestionably nonpartisan job,” Bongino, also a former Fox News host, said. “I’m going to ask you a simple question: Have you seen what I did before I came here?”

He continued: “I’m committed to service. People play different roles in their lives. People are dads, people are soccer coaches. People are cops and military officers and military enlisted people. People are carpenters, people are plumbers. We play different roles in our life, and each one requires a different skill set.”

Bongino’s conciliatory words did little to reassure skeptics within the FBI, who noted that, in the bureau’s 117-year history, the deputy director has always been a career FBI agent with deep knowledge of how the bureau functions — and not a political appointee selected by the president. 

Neither FBI Director Kash Patel nor Bongino have ever worked at the FBI.

In fact, the FBI Agents Association said in a memo to the workforce that Patel had privately committed to installing an agent as his second in command.  

The group did not comment Monday, and the FBI declined to comment.

Some FBI officials consider the deputy director job more important than the director’s role, because the deputy oversees operations, supervises the heads of field offices and handles some of the most sensitive intelligence in the federal government.

“This is beyond problematic,” said Christopher O’Leary, a former senior FBI official who retired in 2023. “Any hope that Kash could be steered by having experienced leaders around him is out the window. We now have two conspiracy theorists and election deniers running our premier law enforcement and intelligence agency.”

Some current FBI employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to reporters, were even more blunt. They said they feared Bongino's appointment spelled the end of an independent FBI and put the bureau’s fearsome investigative and intelligence capabilities in the hands of political actors with radical agendas.

“I didn’t sleep and I want to pack my desk today,” one said.

Another FBI official said he viewed the hiring of Bongino as akin to bringing on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones or Oath Keepers leader Stuart Rhodes.

Like those two men, Bongino has become known for both his loyalty to Trump and for trafficking in bizarre and unproven allegations about the FBI and the Capitol riot.  

He once argued that every FBI agent and supervisor who had anything to do with the 2022 search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound — which was conducted pursuant to a lawful search warrant — be fired. And he recently claimed without evidence that the FBI knows who placed pipe bombs outside the RNC and DNC the day before the Jan. 6 attack, even though the FBI says it has not identified any suspects and recently asked the public for help.

“Will the deputy director get a security clearance? FBI background checks? Does it matter that he supported the Oath Keepers?" one retired FBI agent said, referring to the far-right group that Rhodes founded. "I doubt it because the director supported Jan. 6th."

The retired agent spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid being targeted by online threats.

Despite the focus on Bongino, many FBI employees tried to keep their heads down and go on with their jobs Monday, current and former officials said.

Bongino worked for two years for the New York Police Department before joining the Secret Service in 1999, where he served for 12 years. He ran unsuccessfully three times as a Republican candidate for office before striking out to build what has become a media empire, including one of the most popular podcasts in the U.S. 

On Monday, Bongino sought to strike an inspiring tone.

“We’re going to re-establish faith in this institution, the good people there, doing their job, hitting the streets, developing sources,” he said. “We’ll have your back. … The FBI belongs to the American people. Doesn’t belong to me, doesn’t belong to anyone else but the American people. But this is the honor of a lifetime, and it’s a serious mission. I plan on implementing that vision.”

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The feds are “criminalizing sex” and looking to put people “in prison for funsies” by prosecuting the two glamorous leaders of embattled “sexual wellness” empire OneTaste, their lawyers claimed Wednesday.

“I would say the government is trying to criminalize sex. That is what this case is about, make no bones about it,” said Duncan Levin, who represents the company’s head of sales Rachel Cherwitz, after a hearing in Brooklyn federal court.

Cherwitz and the company’s founder Nicole Daedone are slated to head to trial in January 2025 on charges that they operated OneTaste like a cult by grooming members into having sex with investors and clients, while driving the members into debt. Both women have been charged with conspiracy to commit forced labor and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The pair were in court Wednesday for a hearing in which their lawyers argued that the case should be thrown out for what they claimed was “misconduct” by the feds, including an FBI agent allegedly ordering a key witness to delete her email account.

But prosecutors — calling the defense’s claims “baseless” and “speculative” — responded in court papers that the agent in question was simply trying to protect the witness from harassment she’d received from other OneTaste members, rather than destroy evidence.

Daedone and Cherwitz were flanked in court Wednesday by around a dozen followers of their California-based company, also known as the Institute of OM or Eros, which is currently offering its orgasm meditation classes out of a Harlem office, according to a spokesperson.

The “orgasmic meditation” treatment, in which a group of women have their genitals stroked methodically for 15 minutes, “is a transformative practice that heals maladies ranging from sexual dysfunction and trauma to depression and anxiety,” its website boasts.

Lawyers for Daedone and Cherwitz sounded off against the case again to reporters after the hour-long hearing, claiming that the feds charged the women using a unique interpretation of the “conspiracy to commit forced labor” law.

“This is just [the Eastern District of New York] trying to be creative, and the courts have said it’s not your job to be creative and see if you can put someone in prison for funsies and that’s really what they’re doing here,” said Jennifer Bonjean, who represents Daedone.

Bonjean, who is best known for defending Bill Cosby and R. Kelly on charges involving sexual misconduct, also claimed Wednesday that the feds are “targeting women, frankly, which is an interesting flip on the #MeToo,” despite the fact that prosecutors built their case on the word of at least one woman who told the FBI she was coerced into sexual acts.

The company has had a fall from grace since 2018, when more than 35,000 people attended their in-person events, they were endorsed by Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop website, and Daedone delivered a viral speech at a Tedx conference encouraging skeptical attendees to try out orgasmic meditation.

The company was also the subject of a 2022 Netflix documentary called “Orgasm Inc” that detailed some of the allegations that are part of the criminal case.

Judge Diane Gujarati didn’t take a position on the OneTaste legal team’s claims and set a July 17 deadline for the attorneys to formalize their arguments in a motion to dismiss the case.

DOJ Reform on Collision Course: EDNY’s Netflix 'Evidence' and FBI Misconduct Under Scrutiny

Monday, February 24, 2025

As the Department of Justice undergoes a seismic shift under the Trump administration, prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) find themselves at the center of controversy over the prosecution of OneTaste co-founder Nicole Daedone and former sales leader Rachel Cherwitz. The case, which invokes human trafficking laws against meditation instructors, is emerging as a key test of the DOJ’s evolving priorities and its commitment to FBI reform.

The government’s attempt to introduce content from a Netflix documentary as trial evidence—journal entries created specifically for the streaming platform’s 2022 production—has already drawn scrutiny, particularly as the film predated the indictment by only a few months. With allegations of FBI misconduct also mounting, this prosecution may soon face the same intense DOJ oversight that recently rocked the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

Mounting Evidence of FBI Misconduct

A formal complaint filed with multiple federal oversight bodies by OneTaste’s legal team—led by former senior DOJ prosecutor Paul Pelletier—alleges a “pervasive pattern of prejudicial investigatory misconduct.” The 36-page document details allegations against FBI Special Agent Elliot McGinnis, including:

• Participation in Netflix productions while investigating targets
• Instructing witnesses to delete evidence
• Using personal email accounts to evade oversight
• Filing misleading affidavits
• Suppressing Brady material
• Illegally obtaining and utilizing attorney-client privileged materials

Despite defense motions for dismissal and requests for an evidentiary hearing into the FBI’s conduct, EDNY trial judge Diane Gujarati has thus far declined to intervene. However, with the expected confirmation of incoming FBI Director Kash Patel, this case could soon find itself under heightened scrutiny. Patel, whose nomination cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 13, has signaled a commitment to rooting out political bias within the bureau. Senator Chuck Grassley, in supporting Patel’s confirmation, characterized the FBI as being “badly infected with political decision-making” and emphasized the need for transparency and accountability.

The SDNY Shake-Up and Its Implications for EDNY

The upheaval in the SDNY provides a stark warning to EDNY prosecutors. On February 10, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered SDNY to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, citing two primary concerns: improper interference with Adams’ 2025 reelection campaign and the diversion of prosecutorial resources away from violent crime and immigration violations.

This decision ignited a firestorm within SDNY, culminating in the resignation of Acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon after she appealed directly to Attorney General Pam Bondi. DOJ officials responded swiftly, accusing Sassoon of pursuing a “politically motivated prosecution” based on “aggressive” legal theories. The Adams case was subsequently reassigned to DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C., and seven SDNY prosecutors were terminated in the fallout.

SDNY’s long-standing reputation for operating with relative independence—often referred to as the “Sovereign District of New York”—appears to be a thing of the past under the current DOJ. EDNY prosecutors, who have historically enjoyed similar autonomy, now face the prospect of increased oversight as they navigate this high-profile case.

The Human Trafficking Paradox

On February 5, Attorney General Bondi issued directives instructing federal prosecutors to focus on “the most serious, readily provable offenses,” emphasizing illegal immigration, transnational crime, and human trafficking. Yet, as this directive takes effect, EDNY prosecutors continue to invest significant resources in a novel, single-count forced labor conspiracy case against wellness educators under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). The government’s untested theory of “coercive control” as a form of trafficking has drawn criticism from legal experts, who argue that it blurs the distinction between social pressure and criminal coercion.

The case against OneTaste presents a paradox: at a time when the DOJ is pivoting towards dismantling actual human trafficking operations, EDNY’s six-year-long pursuit of this prosecution may soon come under question. The precedent set by the SDNY shake-up suggests that DOJ leadership is willing to intervene aggressively when a prosecution is deemed misaligned with national priorities.

A Trial Under Increasing Pressure

With jury selection set to begin on May 5, 2025, the ground beneath the OneTaste prosecution is shifting rapidly. Judge Gujarati’s refusal to schedule additional pre-trial conferences suggests confidence in the case, but the broader DOJ realignment paints a different picture.

The question now is not just whether this case will proceed to trial, but whether EDNY prosecutors will maintain their current course in the face of growing federal scrutiny. As the DOJ consolidates control over its regional offices and refocuses its priorities, EDNY must weigh its prosecutorial independence against the new realities taking shape in Washington. If SDNY’s recent upheaval serves as any indication, the days of unchecked autonomy for federal prosecutors in New York may be numbered.

1. U.S. v. Cherwitz, et al., No. 23-cr-146 (DG) (E.D.N.Y.)
2. https://natlawreview.com/article/netflix-content-becomes-federal-evidence-ednys-onetaste-prosecution-faces-scrutiny
3. OIG complaint regarding FBI Agent Misconduct