Overview
- FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed Stephen A. Smith’s suggestion that President Trump drove the arrests, calling the claim the “single dumbest thing” he had heard.
- More than 30 people were arrested in the takedown, including Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones, following investigations into rigged poker games and insider betting.
- Patel said those charged worked with La Cosa Nostra crime families and face allegations including wire fraud, extortion, money laundering, and game‑rigging.
- Reporting notes the investigation, referred to by some as Operation Royal Flush, began in 2021–2022, undercutting assertions of a newly political initiative.
- The NBA said it is cooperating with authorities and placed Billups and Rozier on immediate leave, while Smith reiterated on social media and radio that he stands by his warning that Trump is “coming.”