DoJ racing to redact documents ahead of deadline to release Epstein files – report
Congress has mandated that the Trump administration release a trove of Epstein-related files by tomorrow – and the Justice Department is racing to process thousands of pages of documents and images.
In an exclusive, CNN reports that the Justice Department is racing to redact thousands of pages in oder to protect victims, and address executive and legal privacy concerns. Per CNN, counterintelligence specialists “ were asked to drop nearly all of their other work”.
Today, House Democrats released several dozen more photos from Epstein’s estate, which show his associations with the rich and famous, including images of Epstein cooking with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, an Emirati businessman, an image of billionaire Bill Gates posing with a woman whose face has been redacted. Another photo shows prominent linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky sitting on a plane with Epstein.
Key events
Today’s recap
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House oversight Democrats released a new batch of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, in a last-ditch effort to pressure the DOJ to abide by tomorrow’s deadline to release its files related to the convicted sex offender. The images are undated and lack captions or context, and the appearance of people in the photos is not evidence of wrongdoing. Among them are photographs of what appear to be lines from the novel Lolita written on different parts of a woman’s body. There are also photographs of Bill Gates posing with a woman whose face has been redacted, and of the prominent linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky sitting on a plane with Epstein. Other images show Woody Allen, the director; Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser; and David Brooks, the author and New York Times opinion columnist, among others. The batch also includes photos of a number of foreign passports, with the information redacted, as well as Epstein’s US passport. There is also a screenshot of a text message conversation from a unknown sender referring to an 18-year-old from Russia. The sender says “I have a friend scout she sent me some girls today” then sends “But she asks 1000$ per girl”. Following messages read “I will send u girls now”, and “Maybe someone will be good for J?”.
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Congressional Democrats expect that Trump’s Justice Department will comply with the deadline to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday.“Based on my conversations with some of the top Democrats who’ve been working on this matter related to the full and complete disclosure of the Epstein files, we do expect compliance,” Jeffries said, according to The Hill. “But if the Department of Justice does not comply with what is federal law at this point, there will be strong bipartisan pushback.”
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In a statement after the release, Robert Garcia, a US representative and ranking member of the committee on oversight and government reform, said: “Oversight Democrats will continue to release photographs and documents from the Epstein estate to provide transparency for the American people.” “As we approach the deadline for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, these new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession. We must end this White House cover-up, and the DoJ must release the Epstein files now.”
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Elsewhere, Robert F Kennedy Jr unveiled new actions aimed at eliminating transition-related medical care for minors across the US, referring to such treatments as “sex-rejecting procedures”. As part of the effort, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will initiate a rule-making process that would prevent hospitals from offering puberty blockers, hormone treatments, or surgical procedures to minors if they wish to participate in Medicare or Medicaid. The proposal would also prohibit Medicaid funds from being used to cover this type of care. Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip) together cover nearly half of all American children. More here.
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New York Attorney General, Letitia James responded to the Trump administration’s new actions eliminating gender-affirming care for minors, addressing families in the state: “I know this latest proposal from this administration to cut access to gender affirming care for many youth is frightening,” she said in a video, posted to social media. “Whether you live in Brooklyn, Binghamton, Buffalo, or anywhere else in New York, and even if you don’t live in New York, I will not let this administration come for you, your doctors, or your lifesaving healthcare. As of now, nothing has changed.”
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Trump also signed an executive order to move marijuana out of the most restrictive drug category, a change that would loosen limits on research and certain regulations but stop short of making marijuana legal nationwide. “I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing an Executive Order to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses,” the president said from the Oval Office. “This reclassification order will make it far easier to conduct marijuana-related medical research, allowing us to study benefits, potential dangers and future treatments,” Trump added. “It’s going to have a tremendously positive impact.” The action allows for a pilot program that reimburses Medicare patients for products containing CBD, a widely used cannabis-derived compound that does not produce a high. Under the order, marijuana would be shifted from Schedule I, a category that includes heroin, to Schedule III, which also includes ketamine. The move, however, would not legalize marijuana as some states have done, and would not change how law enforcement agencies handle marijuana-related arrests, according to senior administration officials who spoke to the New York Times. More here.
The Senate has confirmed 97 of Donald Trump’s executive and judicial nominations en bloc.
This comes after Senate Republicans changed chamber rules to allow for the bundled consideration executive nominees with a simple majority vote. Those confirmed today include state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce to be deputy US representative to the United Nation, and NY Republican congressman Anthony D’Esposito as Labor inspector general.
Brent Bozell III, who was US ambassador to South Africa, is the father of Brent Bozell IV, who was convicted of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Lawyers for Mark Kelly, the democratic senator of Arizona, have issued a letter asking defense secretary Pete Hegseth to clarify the nature of his investigation of Kelly.
On Monday, the Defense Department said it was elevating a “review” of Kelly’s involvement in a video he and other Democratic lawmakers made reminding service members it was their duty to disobey illegal orders. Kelly, a former naval officer, would be under an “official Command Investigation”, the department said.
Kelly’s lawyers issued a letter today, asking the secretary to clarify whther a command investigation had in fact commenced, who ordered the investigation, and under what authority, what allegations were under investigation, and on what basis the department of defense was claiming to assert jurisdiction over Kelly.
“The investigation appears to be premised entirely on accurate statements of law that the Senator made in his capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The First Amendment plainly protects those statements, just as it would protect similar statements by other retired servicemembers. In addition, a command investigation of a sitting Member of Congress who is not subject to military command authority would breach numerous constitutional and statutory safeguards,” the lawyers write.
Military law experts have said that although retired military officers can be recalled to active duty, Hegseth’s investigation into Kelly is an irregular use of of the military justice system. Democrats and some Republicans have also questioned the merits of the investigation.
In a joint statement, Democratic lawmakers and all ex-officio members of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees condemned Trump’s efforts to rename the Kennedy Center.
Beyond using the Kennedy Center to reward his friends and political allies, President Trump is now attempting to affix his name to yet another public institution without legal authority. Federal law established the Center as a memorial to President Kennedy and prohibits changing its name without Congressional action. At today’s meeting, a sitting Member of Congress was muted, and participants were prevented from speaking—actions that reflect a troubling lack of transparency and respect for the rule of law. This whole process displays the corruption that permeates the entire Trump Administration, and as ex-officio members of the Kennedy Center Board, we will be unwavering in our commitment to holding this Administration accountable.”
The statement was signed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island senator Mark Warner of Virginia, representative Rick Larsen of Washgington and representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio.
New York Attorney General, Letitia James responded to the Trump administration’s new actions eliminating gender-affirming care for minors, addressing families in the state:
“I know this latest proposal from this administration to cut access to gender affirming care for many youth is frightening,” she said in a video, posted to social media.
“Whether you live in Brooklyn, Binghamton, Buffalo, or anywhere else in New York, and even if you don’t live in New York, I will not let this administration come for you, your doctors, or your lifesaving healthcare. As of now, nothing has changed,” she continued. “Your healthcare is still legal and protected, and your doctors cannot cut off your access to gender affirming care based on the administration’s reckless proposal. And most importantly, I want you to know that you’re not alone.”
While Donald Trump claimed during an address Wednesday that “inflation has stopped,” a rosy consumer price report released earlier today has prompted skepticism among economists.
Trump’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said the consumer price index (CPI) saw an annual inflation rate of 2.7% last month–lower than the 3.1 percent economists had predicted, CNBC reported.
But the Bureau of Labor statistics did not collect data in October because of the government shutdown, leaving analysts wondering about how this affected interpretation of November’s data.
Michael Gapen, chief US economist at Morgan Stanley, reportedly said “the downside surprise reflects weakness in both goods and services, but may be partly due to methodological issues.”
“If these technical factors are the main source of weakness, we could see reacceleration in December,” CNBC quoted Gapen as saying.
Democrats expect DoJ to comply with Epstein files deadline, Jeffries says
Congressional Democrats expect that Trump’s Justice Department will comply with the deadline to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday.
“Based on my conversations with some of the top Democrats who’ve been working on this matter related to the full and complete disclosure of the Epstein files, we do expect compliance,” Jeffries said, according to The Hill. “But if the Department of Justice does not comply with what is federal law at this point, there will be strong bipartisan pushback.”
Congress passed a bill in November mandating that Trump’s Justice Department release investigative files within 30 days without redactions, with few exceptions such as victims’ names. Despite wavering on releasing the files, Trump signed the legislation into law on November 19–meaning the documents must be disclosed by Friday.
Victoria Bekiempis
In less than 48 hours, Donald Trump’s justice department must release most of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein in its possession.
Last month, Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the release of those materials by 19 December, except in narrow cases where they would jeopardize current investigations, harm national security or foreign policy goals, or reveal information about Epstein’s victims.
Since Trump signed the legislation, his administration has been silent on its progress. Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers asked Pam Bondi, the attorney general, for a briefing on the department of justice’s progress, but she did not provide one. Two Democratic senators among that group subsequently pledged to block some civilian nominees, because they were concerned the administration “is gearing up to disregard the law we led the fight in the Senate to pass, which overwhelmingly passed both chambers of Congress”.
It’s not clear what remedy could follow if the justice department does not heed the law mandating disclosure, though such a move would surely provoke a political firestorm. If the files are released, they could contain hundreds of thousands of pages related to investigations into the late sex trafficker, including additional victims’ claims and the names of his high-profile associates. The documents might also lift the veil on how Epstein – who counted Trump and the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor among his powerful friends – evaded justice for decades.
DoJ racing to redact documents ahead of deadline to release Epstein files – report
Congress has mandated that the Trump administration release a trove of Epstein-related files by tomorrow – and the Justice Department is racing to process thousands of pages of documents and images.
In an exclusive, CNN reports that the Justice Department is racing to redact thousands of pages in oder to protect victims, and address executive and legal privacy concerns. Per CNN, counterintelligence specialists “ were asked to drop nearly all of their other work”.
Today, House Democrats released several dozen more photos from Epstein’s estate, which show his associations with the rich and famous, including images of Epstein cooking with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, an Emirati businessman, an image of billionaire Bill Gates posing with a woman whose face has been redacted. Another photo shows prominent linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky sitting on a plane with Epstein.
Trump says he was ‘surprised’ by vote to add his name to Kennedy Center, move he previewed in August
Robert Mackey
When Donald Trump was asked today for his reaction to the news that the board of the Kennedy Center, whose members he appointed, had voted to add his name to the building, the president said “I was surprised by it”. But four months ago, at an 22 August Oval Office event, Trump announced that the World Cup draw would be taking place “at the Kennedy Center, some people refer to it as the Trump-Kennedy Center, but we’re not prepared to do that quite yet, maybe in a week or so”.
Among the Democrats pointing out on Thursday that the board does not, in fact, have the power to change the name of the performing arts center, was Joe Kennedy III, a former congressman and a grandnephew of the man it is named for, John F. Kennedy.
“The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law. It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says,” Joe Kennedy wrote on social media.
Republican representative Thomas Massie has posted this video on X this afternoon outlining what he says people can “expect in advance of tomorrow’s statutory disclosure deadline” for the attorney general to release the Epstein files.
The FBI 302 forms in the files will contain the names of “at least 20 men” implicated in sex crimes, sourced to victim lawyers, Massie says in the video. He goes on:
If we get a large production on December 19th and it does not contain a single name of any male who is accused of a sex crime or sex trafficking or rape or any of these things, then we know they haven’t produced all the documents, it’s that simple.
The day so far
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House oversight Democrats released a new batch of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, in a last-ditch effort to pressure the DOJ to abide by tomorrow’s deadline to release its files related to the convicted sex offender. The images are undated and lack captions or context, and the appearance of people in the photos is not evidence of wrongdoing. Among them are photographs of what appear to be lines from the novel Lolita written on different parts of a woman’s body. There are also photographs of Bill Gates posing with a woman whose face has been redacted, and of the prominent linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky sitting on a plane with Epstein. Other images show Woody Allen, the director; Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser; and David Brooks, the author and New York Times opinion columnist, among others. The batch also includes photos of a number of foreign passports, with the information redacted, as well as Epstein’s US passport. There is also a screenshot of a text message conversation from a unknown sender referring to an 18-year-old from Russia. The sender says “I have a friend scout she sent me some girls today” then sends “But she asks 1000$ per girl”. Following messages read “I will send u girls now”, and “Maybe someone will be good for J?”.
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In a statement after the release, Robert Garcia, a US representative and ranking member of the committee on oversight and government reform, said: “Oversight Democrats will continue to release photographs and documents from the Epstein estate to provide transparency for the American people.” “As we approach the deadline for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, these new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession. We must end this White House cover-up, and the DoJ must release the Epstein files now.”
-
Elsewhere, Robert F Kennedy Jr unveiled new actions aimed at eliminating transition-related medical care for minors across the US, referring to such treatments as “sex-rejecting procedures”. As part of the effort, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will initiate a rule-making process that would prevent hospitals from offering puberty blockers, hormone treatments, or surgical procedures to minors if they wish to participate in Medicare or Medicaid. The proposal would also prohibit Medicaid funds from being used to cover this type of care. Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip) together cover nearly half of all American children. More here.
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Trump also signed an executive order to move marijuana out of the most restrictive drug category, a change that would loosen limits on research and certain regulations but stop short of making marijuana legal nationwide. “I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing an Executive Order to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses,” the president said from the Oval Office. “This reclassification order will make it far easier to conduct marijuana-related medical research, allowing us to study benefits, potential dangers and future treatments,” Trump added. “It’s going to have a tremendously positive impact.” The action allows for a pilot program that reimburses Medicare patients for products containing CBD, a widely used cannabis-derived compound that does not produce a high. Under the order, marijuana would be shifted from Schedule I, a category that includes heroin, to Schedule III, which also includes ketamine. The move, however, would not legalize marijuana as some states have done, and would not change how law enforcement agencies handle marijuana-related arrests, according to senior administration officials who spoke to the New York Times. More here.
Further on the next Fed chair, Trump said he could announce his pick “over the next couple of weeks”. He added he wasn’t sure it would be before the end of the year, but it would be “pretty soon”.
