Trump requests release of documents related to Epstein case
"This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!" Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform, decrying the "ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein."
Shortly after Trump's statement, Bondi said on X that the Justice Department was ready to move the court on Friday to unseal the grand jury transcripts.
President Trump—we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts. pic.twitter.com/hOXzdTcYYB
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) July 18, 2025
Trump wrote Epstein lewd birthday letter, says WSJ
Trump's latest announcement on the Epstein case came shortly after his threats to sue The Wall Street Journal newspaper over a story that the president wrote a crude letter to Epstein.
The letter allegedly featured a drawing of a naked woman and was part of a collection of notes for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003.
Trump strongly denied writing the note, calling it "false, malicious, and defamatory," and claiming the newspaper ignored his direct denials.
"President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr. (Rupert) Murdoch, shortly. The Press has to learn to be truthful, and not rely on sources that probably don't even exist," Trump posted on Truth Social.
Epstein case and Trump's rift with MAGA
The president was already under intense scrutiny for his previous ties to Epstein.
Trump is among several high-profile figures who were once acquainted with Epstein, though he denies ever visiting Epstein's infamous estate in the US Virgin Islands.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, was arrested on child sex trafficking and in conspiracy charges. He died by suicide in jail August 2019 while awaiting trial.
During the 2024 election campaign, Trump promised to release files relating to Epstein, but later backtracked, urging his Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters to forget about the files.
Many of Trump's supporters, notably those in the core MAGA movement, are accusing the administration of shielding powerful figures allegedly tied to case.
The Epstein case is the most prominent rift between Trump and his loyal MAGA base ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
11 minutes ago
- Fox News
Trump is trying to ‘cajole' Powell to lower interest rates: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick discusses how President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's sparred over renovation costs for the 'Fed Mahal' on 'The Ingraham Angle.'
San Francisco Chronicle
40 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Planned Parenthood closes 5 Northern California clinics, citing Trump budget bill
President Donald Trump's budget cuts to Medicaid have forced Planned Parenthood Mar Monte to shutter five clinics across Northern California and the Central Coast, including one in South San Francisco, the group said Thursday. The GOP-led federal spending bill that Trump signed into law earlier this month eliminated federal Medicaid funding for any type of medical care to organizations that perform abortions. Mar Monte is the largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the country, with health care centers from Bakersfield, the Bay Area, Stockton and Sacramento. The now-shuttered facilities also include San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Gilroy and Madera. The closures represent the first wave of how the recent federal budget cuts will have real-life consequences for health clinics across the country — particularly for low-income Americans. They are also a crushing blow to a state that set it up to be an abortion haven after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. In the year after the decision, political leaders in California — led by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic-controlled Legislature — passed more than a dozen new laws and invested more than $200 million to increase access across the state. Thursday's announcement drives home the extent of the federal government's tremendous power to impact abortion access. Roughly 80% of Mar Monte's patients received Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid. Ten million people are expected to lose their health insurance because of nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Meanwhile, the wealthiest Americans will receive a disproportionate share of the tax cuts funded by those cuts, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. In just one week since Mar Monte stopped billing Medicaid, the Planned Parenthood affiliate with 35 locations said it saw 5,000 patients — amounting to about $1.7 million in care costs it covered without reimbursement — Mar Monte Chief of Staff Andrew Adams told the Chronicle Thursday. 'It's just not sustainable,' said Adams. 'We can't keep our doors open if we continue doing that.' Mar Monte said the funding law also forced it to end services in family medicine, behavioral health and prenatal care. The Planned Parenthood affiliate estimates it will lose $100 million in annual revenue from care that can no longer be reimbursed under the law because they provide abortion care. Americans tend to support abortion rights, according to public polling. A May 2025 Gallup Poll found that 51% of respondents described themselves as 'pro choice' while 43% described themselves as 'pro life.'Of those respondents who said they were 'dissatisfied' with the nation's abortion polices, 42% said they would like to see them made 'less strict' while 14% wanted them to be 'stricter.'
Bloomberg
41 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Daybreak Asia: One Week Left For Trade Talks
The US and Japan this week reached what President Donald Trump called the largest trade deal in history after Tokyo pledged to set up a $550 billion fund for investment into the US, details of which remain obscure. The lack of clarity about how the fund will work adds to questions about the viability of the agreement, which imposes 15% tariffs on Japanese cars and other goods. While the start date and other basic elements are still unknown, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned this week that the US would monitor implementation and bump the rate up to 25% if Trump isn't satisfied. In his latest column, Bloomberg Opinion's Gearoid Reidy writes that after three months, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba finally has his trade deal. Gearoid joins us to explain why it may be Ishiba's final act. Plus - the S&P 500 inched to a new record Thursday - its 10th in 19 days - driven by tech gains that papered over a broader weakness as most stocks in the benchmark dropped. The S&P 500 has surged 28% from its April lows as investors grew optimistic that President Donald Trump's tariff war won't hurt the economy and corporate earnings as initially feared. Meantime, South Korea's trade ministry said Friday that Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reaffirmed their will to reach a mutually beneficial trade agreement before August 1st deadline. For more on the economic impact of ongoing negotiations, we heard from Janet Henry, Global Chief Economist at HSBC. She speaks with Bloomberg's Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts on The Asia Trade.
