The man who got the Epstein subpoena

Washington Post

7 days ago

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In today's edition … How Democrats got an Epstein subpoena … 100 days from Election Day in Virginia and New Jersey … but first …
Former vice president Kamala Harris is not running for California governor, leaving the door open for a 2028 presidential run.
Harris was a top contender to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited from running for a third term in 2026, but people in Harris's circle thought running for governor could box her out of a future presidential run, Maeve Reston reports. She also turned down a gubernatorial run in 2015 to run for U.S. Senate.
Harris's statement said she would be focusing on organizing Democrats in the immediate term and would be 'sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans.'
Read more from Maeve.
Here's what else you need to get ready with The Post:
The House Oversight Committee is made for viral moments. It deals with some of the testiest issues on Capitol Hill, and many of the dramatic confrontations that make the rounds on social media are from the committee. It once again thrust itself into the spotlight after one of its subcommittees voted to subpoena the Justice Department's files on Jeffrey Epstein, going further on the case than Republican leadership seemed willing to go.
Enter Rep. Robert Garcia (California), the second-term Democrat selected by his party to lead them on the committee — and the man who bypassed the committee's Republican leadership to subpoena the files.
Garcia has been the top ranking Democrat on the committee since June. He's using the position to model how Democrats can push back on the Trump administration as voters repeatedly implore Democratic lawmakers to be more aggressive.
'One of the first things I told everybody is, we have got to be aggressive, and we have got to push back, and not just wait until we win control,' Garcia told us. 'The fight starts today, and I want us to come up with ways that we can use the Oversight Committee to get results and to get transparency.'
He cited the subpoena as a prime example — using committee procedure to force action even when the party is in the minority. He targeted the House Oversight subcommittee on federal law enforcement because he knew it had a number of Republicans who were sympathetic to releasing the Epstein files, he told us, and was able to get enough Republicans on the subcommittee to vote with the Democratic members to approve a subpoena.
The full committee is now required to issue a subpoena, which the team of Chairman James Comer said he would do soon. Garcia wrote to Comer (Kentucky) urging him to issue the subpoena as soon as possible.
'The Oversight Committee will be the tip of the spear in taking on Donald Trump,' Garcia told us. 'We're well positioned to do that, and we're not waiting until we win the majority back. We're doing it now.'
Garcia is eager to demonstrate a new leadership style from past Democrats. He cast his candidacy to be the ranking Democrat as a generational changing of the guard, differentiating himself from more senior candidates including Stephen F. Lynch of Massachusetts and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland.
The previous ranking member, Virginia's Gerry Connolly, died in May, opening the position. Connolly ran against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) for the role last year, another young Democrat who made a similar pitch as Garcia.
'He brings a deep understanding of the challenges our communities and country face, and has demonstrated an unwavering commitment and ability to meet the moment,' Rep. Summer Lee, the top Democrat on the federal law enforcement subcommittee, said in a statement. 'Under his leadership, Democrats are prepared to take this fight exactly where it needs to go.'
Epstein offers a unique opportunity for Garcia to prove himself, with heightened interest in the case from the public and from several of his colleagues across the aisle. Garcia also has his eyes set on tackling other contentious, high-profile issues including deportations to the maximum-security prison CECOT in El Salvador.
Garcia is hardly the first to recognize the power of the committee. Republicans under Comer have relentlessly investigated former president Joe Biden, beginning when he was in office. Oversight Committee Republicans led the probes into Biden's family and directed the unsuccessful impeachment inquiry into Biden. They are continuing to investigate Biden's mental acuity while he was in office, including whether staff acted on his behalf. (Garcia waved off pursuing impeachment now and said that would have to be a party-wide decision.)
But Garcia's recent maneuver to secure the Epstein subpoena is notable because he managed to get it done while in the minority, going beyond what Republican leadership was comfortable pursuing on Epstein.
Comer has also made steps to address interest in Epstein, even if he didn't go as far as to push for a full release of the Justice Department documents, which Trump has made clear he opposes. Oversight Committee Republicans also voted to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein accomplice who is serving prison time for sex trafficking, and issue subpoenas on several prominent former Justice Department figures, including former FBI director James B. Comey; former attorneys general Merrick Garland, William P. Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta E. Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales; and former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. They also threw in Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Comer knew Democrats would make a go for releasing the files during subcommittee hearings last week and warned Republican leadership about it at the time, a Republican aide told us. Democrats had previously made moves to subpoena, including Elon Musk. He also knew several Republicans were likely to support the Epstein subpoena, so the approval didn't come as a surprise, the aide said.
Comer has to sign off on the subpoena before it goes out but has yet to do so.
Trump got the good economic news he is craving, but not the reaction he has been publicly and privately demanding.
After the economy contracted in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department announced yesterday that the U.S. economy grew by 3 percent in the second quarter of the year, a strong showing that our colleague Abha Bhattarai reports was 'boosted by a slowdown in imports amid ongoing trade turmoil.'
That is the news Trump wanted.
Hours later came the news he didn't want: The Federal Reserve, led by Chair Jerome H. Powell, announced it was keeping interest rates steady and warned about slowing economic growth, bucking Trump's furious pressure campaign that is sure to anger the Republican president.
Notably, two Fed governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, dissented from the decision and said they preferred lowering rates, our colleague Andrew Ackerman reported, the first time in more than 30 years that two sitting governors have dissented from such a decision.
In announcing his decision, Powell pointed to Trump's tariff policy: 'Increased tariffs are pushing up prices in some categories of goods,' he said. 'Near-term measures of inflation expectations have moved up on balance over the course of this year on news about tariffs.'
So it's a mixed bag for the president. While the economy is growing, analysts were sure to say it was not the time for Trump to be doing cartwheels on the South Lawn.
'You abstract from all of the tariff-related ups, downs and arounds, and the underlying story is that the economy is struggling,' Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told our colleague. 'The economy has significantly throttled back this year.'
This news matters, though. The dominant political issue right now is the economy, prices and how people feel about their bottom line. Because so much of this is driven by vibes, news like this could improve those vibes for Republicans as they head into what is expected to be a challenging 2026 midterms season.
With just under 100 days until Election Day in New Jersey and Virginia, the head of the Democratic Governors Association has a clear message for Democrats: We feel good about our standing in these races, but do not assume they are easy wins.
'These are both going to be really competitive races,' Meghan Meehan-Draper, the executive director of the association, told us. 'In Virginia, we have a lot of statewide elected Republicans. We lost this race in 2021, so we're the ones who had to make up ground from last time. And in New Jersey, history says that we shouldn't win this race. [Gov. Phil] Murphy had a tough reelection, not because he's not a great governor, but because they like to change governors in New Jersey. It's been decades since they've elected back-to-back Democratic governors.'
It was a blunt assessment, but one, Meehan-Draper argued, that Democrats need to understand to avoid overconfidence ahead of two key elections. Former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger is running as the Democratic nominee in Virginia, and Rep. Mikie Sherrill is running as the party's nominee in New Jersey.
'Anyone who wants to be part of the path forward for Democrats and the Democratic Party needs to look at 38 governors races in the next two years,' Meehan-Draper said, starting with Virginia and New Jersey, two states she thinks have clear momentum, no matter how close the races may end up.
The reason for that moment, she argued, was Trump and what Republicans have done with unified power since taking control earlier this year. That has federalized these statewide campaigns and given Democrats something to rally around.
'These are going to be the first governors races in response to Trump 2.0,' Meehan-Draper said. 'This is voters' first opportunity just to make their voices heard in a governor's race about the way Trump's chaotic governing has affected people in their states.'
Elsewhere on the campaign: House Republican Conference Chair Lisa C. McClain is hitting the road next week to advertise the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in three competitive House districts. She's partnering with the National Association of Manufacturers for events in districts represented by Reps. Tom Kean Jr. (New Jersey), Rob Bresnahan (Pennsylvania) and Ryan Mackenzie (Pennsylvania).
'It's a privilege to help carry the message of President Trump and the American people's agenda,' McClain said in a statement. 'As Conference Chair, I have the opportunity to join my colleagues during this district work period and share that message across the country. I'm excited to help bring our results directly to more people and communities.'
The National Association of Manufacturers praised the tax cuts in the bill for businesses of all sizes. Republicans are pushing back on Democratic attacks on the bill zeroing in on cuts to Medicaid, extolling instead the major tax benefits for most Americans. Democrats criticize the tax cuts as disproportionately helping the rich while reducing benefits for the poor, citing estimates by the Congressional Review Act.
Senate Republicans advanced out of committee a stock trading ban bill derisively named after former House speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday. The Pelosi Act would ban members of Congress, presidents, vice presidents and their spouses from holding individual stocks.
Republicans frequently accuse Pelosi of insider trading, citing her husband's stock trading that they allege was based on confidential information gleaned from her office. Pelosi rejects the accusation but has previously been unenthused about a stock-trading ban for members. This is a capitalist country and everyone should participate, she would say.
But now Pelosi is backing the effort.
'While I appreciate the creativity of my Republican colleagues in drafting legislative acronyms, I welcome any serious effort to raise ethical standards in public service,' she said in a statement.
A stock trading ban has support — and opposition — on both sides of the aisle. But Democrats and some Republicans were chagrined by the fact that the Pelosi Act would kick in for elected officials next term, meaning Trump wouldn't be subjected.
We finally have a proposed map for new congressional districts in Texas. As expected, the map increases the number of Republican-controlled seats by five. Though they make some districts slightly more competitive, Trump won all of the proposed Republican seats by at least 10 percentage points, making any Democratic challenge a hard sell.
That could placate some House Republicans, who were unenthusiastic about new district lines that could make their reelections more competitive. It also takes some wind out of the sails of Democrats who said they would aggressively campaign in more competitive Republican districts if a new map gets approved. Democrats said they were still pursuing legal challenges and would recruit candidates to challenge in the new districts.
Texas Democrats have historically performed better than Democratic presidential candidates in the state, especially in areas like South Texas, which has unique political cultures and longtime members who defy shifting political winds. Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, for example, won reelection last year despite Trump taking every county in his district. Same with Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who survived a challenge despite being criminally indicted and Trump winning all but two counties in his district.
Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Patrick Marley, Marianna Sotomayor, Nick Mourtoupalas, Maeve Reston and Lenny Bronner have more on the latest map.
Honolulu Civil Beat (Honolulu): Chaos across Hawaii followed a tsunami warning caused by a magnitude-8.8 earthquake just off the east coast of Russia. The warning led to sirens, jammed roads and quiet beaches.
Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles): The federal funding cuts for NPR and PBS are being felt across the country, with public broadcasters in California and elsewhere cutting positions.
MLive (Grand Rapids, Michigan): In what has become a summer tradition, smoke from Canadian wildfires is blanketing parts of Michigan, the Great Lakes area and the northern stretches of the Northeast.
With Kamala Harris's announcement that she won't run for governor, we're curious about your thoughts on the 2028 field. Any candidates already sticking out to you? Send us your thoughts at [e-mail] or at [e-mail] and [e-mail].
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