The Epstein bombshell explodes

Politico

3 days ago

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With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco
On today's Playbook Podcast, Adam Wren and Dasha Burns unpack the biggest story in Washington: the WSJ's report that the Justice Department told President Donald Trump in May that his name was among many included in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Good morning. It's Thursday. I'm Adam Wren. Let's get straight to the news.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley will run for Senate in North Carolina with Donald Trump's blessing after the president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, opted not to seek the seat, Playbook's Dasha Burns scooped this morning. (What will this mean for the leadership of the RNC? Stay tuned to Playbook.)
Whatley's entry into the race sets up the prospect of a hugely competitive marquee match-up in a state where Democrats have landed their most prized Senate recruit: Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper plans to launch a bid next week, potentially as early as Monday, per POLITICO's Elena Schneider.
In today's Playbook …
— Inside the reaction in Trump's orbit as the WSJ's Epstein files revelation rocks Washington.
— Jeanine Pirro, Paul Ingrassia and more come in for Senate confirmation hearings this morning.
— Trump tours the Federal Reserve as his war on Jerome Powell ramps up.
DRIVING THE DAY
THE CRISIS IS HERE: Yesterday afternoon, the Wall Street Journal dropped a four-bylined bombshell: Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche briefed Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein files alongside many others.
This morning, Trump's 'Epstein files' ordeal has entered a new phase. If it wasn't a crisis already, it is indisputably one now — and it threatens to swallow the news cycle and drastically complicate the GOP's push to enact Trump's agenda.
First in Playbook —
— How Trump sees it: Trump has ruminated about the Epstein fallout for weeks. 'They're going to accuse me of some funny business,' he said recently in the Oval Office, according to a Republican close to the White House who personally heard the president make these comments. Trump again maintained his distance from Epstein's criminal behavior, but lamented: 'They're going to fuck me anyways.'
— How Trump world sees it: Two people close to the White House downplayed the news to Playbook's Dasha Burns last night. 'Everyone has already seen pictures of [Trump and Epstein] together,' said the first. 'None of this reporting is new information.' 'The government has long had these files,' they continued. 'If there was really a 'there' there, it would have come out. The idea that Democrats wouldn't have used this against Trump if there was really something to it is crazy.' Added the second person: Trump 'knows this is nonsense and he didn't do anything wrong. He was actually in a good mood this afternoon.'
And yet: If that's true, the White House's handling of the Epstein ordeal so far is mystifying. Why not just let this news come out after Bondi briefed Trump, with his name among hundreds of others? Why tell the WSJ, as comms director Steven Cheung did, that its reporting was 'fake news' if, in fact, it was information known to the White House and is true? Why did Trump deny in an interview weeks ago that Bondi had briefed him on the matter?
— How MAGA sees it: We're picking up on another talking point in our conversations with people in the broader MAGA universe: What does Trump's name being 'mentioned' really mean? (To our minds, it's a fair question — and one where seeing the underlying files could be helpful.) 'What is the definition of a 'file'?' far-right activist and MAGA influencer Laura Loomer questioned Playbook last night when we asked for her reaction to the WSJ story. 'If they're making these claims against President Trump, they need to define what a 'file' is. Are they trying to say that a file is somebody's name in an address book? I have over 7,000 contacts in my address book. Some of those people in my address book have committed crimes. Does that mean I'm implicated in their crimes? President Trump is not a pedophile. And I look forward to seeing him sue every journalist and publication that is trying to imply that he is one.'
To be clear: At this point, the publicly available information does not point to a crime on Trump's part. But it does suggest a cover-up. Which leads us to one big question:
WHAT DID THEY KNOW AND WHEN DID THEY KNOW IT?: (Apologies to the late Sen. Howard Baker.) A tantalizing line 16 paragraphs into the WSJ story notes that 'FBI Director Kash Patel has privately told other government officials that Trump's name appeared in the files, according to people close to the administration.' Just how widely this was disseminated is a question that major news organizations are going to be running down in the hours and days ahead.
'Right now, everyone should be asking whether the highest levels of the federal government — including but not limited to the president, the VP, the AG, the FBI director and possibly even some Republican leaders in Congress, depending on what they knew and when — have been misleading the American public for weeks, if not months,' our POLITICO colleague Ankush Khardori (himself a former federal prosecutor) tells Playbook.
To that end, we put out a few lines of inquiry:
The VP: We checked in with a spokesperson for Vice President JD Vance about when he learned that Trump's name was in the documents. We did not hear back.
The speaker: A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson did not respond to Playbook's request for comment last night about when Johnson learned Bondi briefed Trump.
The AG: Asked about the reporting in the WSJ and NYT, DOJ spokesperson Gates McGavick said this to our colleague Josh Gerstein: 'This is a collection of falsehoods and innuendo designed to push a bullshit narrative and drive clicks.'
THE NEXT STEPS …
DOJ to meet with Maxwell today: A senior Justice Department official is expected to meet today with Ghislaine Maxwell in Tallahassee, Florida, ABC News reported late last night. Maxwell, Epstein's close associate and confidante, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, among other charges. Her brother tells the NY Post that she is readying 'new evidence' ahead of the meeting. But there are substantial doubts about her veracity — voiced by, among others, Speaker Johnson — as well as her potential motives, given that Trump has the power to pardon or commute her sentence.
A big surprise on Capitol Hill: Just as the House was taking its last floor vote ahead of August recess, a Republican-led House Oversight subcommittee approved a motion by Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) to subpoena the DOJ for documents related to Epstein, POLITICO's Hailey Fuchs reports. Three Republicans — Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Brian Jack (R-Ga.) — joined with Democrats to support it. Of the Democratic-led effort, a person familiar with the Oversight panel tells Playbook that the move is 'indicative of the path we're on … the base is asking for hardball; we're playing hardball.'
Meanwhile, Oversight is subpoenaing Maxwell: House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena yesterday compelling Ghislaine Maxwell's testimony to Congress on Aug. 11, Hailey reports.
Oversight Dems have a new subpoena target: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said last night that he intends to subpoena the Epstein estate for the book in which Trump purportedly drew a nude woman and made an enigmatic statement wishing his then-friend a happy birthday.
The silent treatment from the White House: 'Trump and his aides have settled on silence as a strategy to stamp out criticism' of the Epstein matter, NBC News' Jonathan Allen and colleagues report this morning. 'White House aides have made it clear that no one in the administration is allowed to talk about Epstein without high-level vetting, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.'
Given Trump's longstanding expectation that his aides and administration officials will robustly defend him to the media, this would be a big change — and perhaps a short-lived one.
It's unclear if we'll hear from the president himself on the matter today. He signs bills and executive orders at 3 p.m. in the Oval Office, before heading to the Federal Reserve to tour the building amid simmering tensions with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. He may try to turn the page and avoid the Epstein ordeal, but it seems unlikely that such an attempt will be successful.
'Short of a war or some life-changing news event,' a Trump ally told NBC, 'I'm not sure what does the trick.'
ON THE HILL
NOMINATION ROUNDUP: Three contentious and high-profile nominations are trying to make their way through the Senate today, amid small pockets of GOP pushback. Mike Waltz, who was originally due for a Foreign Relations Committee vote as U.S. ambassador to the U.N., is now facing an uncertain path amid anti-war concerns from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Axios' Hans Nichols and Stef Kight scooped.
Judiciary square: Jeanine Pirro may have an easier time getting GOP votes to be U.S. attorney for D.C. at the Judiciary Committee at 10:15 a.m. But there are still questions about Trump loyalist Emil Bove's nomination to a federal judgeship — which Roll Call's Ryan Tarinelli reports could have its next procedural vote as soon as today — as Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) sound skeptical. And Paul Ingrassia, Trump's controversial pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel, could be in for tough questions at his Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs confirmation hearing at 9:30 a.m. More from POLITICO's Inside Congress
THE APPROPRIATIONS MARATHON: The Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up its next two bills, Interior-Environment and Transportation-HUD, at 9:30 a.m. But a House Appropriations Committee markup of Commerce-Justice-Science was delayed from today to after the August recess, as the House scrambles to get out of town, POLITICO's Katherine Tully-McManus reports for Pros. For Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the big-picture plan is to pass as many appropriations bills as possible by the Oct. 1 deadline and then likely use a stopgap to cover the others through year's end, he tells POLITICO's Jordain Carney. But Democrats, House conservatives and White House rescissions could all mess with that.
Also coming this fall …
THE MAGA REVOLUTION
TOUR DE FORCE: Some of the most prominent officials urging Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell — and, in a surprise, Trump himself — will tour the central bank's headquarters today to examine renovation plans that Powell opponents have seized on as a pretext to boot him. Deputy chief of staff James Blair, OMB Director Russell Vought and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte will be there along with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), per Semafor, the latest step in a pressure campaign to erode the Fed's independence with an unprecedented ouster. Blair says they want to look through the expensive project. And last night, Trump added a Fed visit to his own schedule, slated for 4 p.m.
Full steam ahead: The Powell squeeze is only one plank of Trump's broader project, which continues rolling ahead with few obstacles. Here's all the latest, from just the past day:
SCHOOLS: The administration struck a deal with Columbia University, in which the school will pay $221 million to settle civil rights probes and get the vast majority of its federal grants restored, the N.Y. Post's Josh Christenson and Chris Nesi scooped.
The pre-K-12 transformation: The Government Accountability Office yet again said the Trump administration had broken the law by impounding funds — this time for Head Start, per the Washington Examiner. … And Education Secretary Linda McMahon told The Daily Signal's Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell that she's talking to congressional Republicans about a piecemeal legislative approach to dismantle the Education Department further.
DEMOCRACY: The latest DOJ request for voter registration info has gone to Michigan, CNN's Fredreka Schouten reports, spurring local officials' fears about Trump's false election-fraud conspiracies. Meanwhile, the administration's firing of the new interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey amounts to 'a new front in its war with the courts,' POLITICO's Kyle Cheney and Ry Rivard write. And Trump's renewed threat of legal retribution against Barack Obama and other political enemies reflects an administration stocked with officials who 'often appear willing to follow through on his angriest and most authoritarian impulses,' NYT's Michael Schmidt writes.
FOOD: The FDA will attempt to define 'ultra-processed foods,' FDA Commissioner Marty Makary tells Playbook's Dasha Burns in a just-released clip from an upcoming episode of 'The Conversation.' That could have major implications for SNAP benefits, school lunches and other food-related government programs. Subscribe to 'The Conversation' on YouTube, Apple Podcasts or Spotify
IMMIGRATION: A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that blocked Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship, the latest judicial loss for Trump on this issue that is likely headed back to the Supreme Court, per the AP. Meanwhile, a rapid-fire trio of rulings ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release, barred his immigration detention and kept him detained for now, per NBC.
FEDERAL WORKFORCE: The Supreme Court's conservatives gave Trump another major shadow-docket win by green-lighting (for now) his firings of Democrats on the independent Consumer Product Safety Commission, despite laws protecting them from politicized ousters, per CBS.
GLOBAL HEALTH: Senate reprieve be damned, internal documents show that Trump is planning to shut down PEPFAR and foist responsibility onto other countries in as little as two years, NYT's Stephanie Nolen reports. Advocates warn that abruptly winding down the HIV/AIDS program, which has saved 26 million lives, would kill 'countless people.'
CLIMATE: The Energy Department yanked a loan guarantee for a huge electricity transmission line, per the NYT. The White House unveiled a major artificial intelligence policy plan yesterday that envisions huge deregulation to strip away safety guardrails and give companies largely free reign to try to dominate the AI race, per ABC. But but but … Trump's big AI plans would be directly undermined by the loan guarantee cancellation, which will make it harder for the grid to accommodate growing power demands, POLITICO's James Bikales and Kelsey Tamborrino report.
VACCINES: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to turn false anti-vaccine conspiracy theories into federal policy: He officially walked back recommendations for flu shots that contain thimerosal over debunked claims about a link to autism, NYT's Apoorva Mandavilli reports.
MEDIA: Skydance, which is seeking to take over Paramount, told the FCC that it'll undertake a 'comprehensive review of CBS' and appoint an ombudsman to handle complaints of bias at the network — the latest preemptive capitulation to Trump's attacks on the press, per CNN.
BEST OF THE REST
TRAIL MIX: This morning, Defend the Vote is endorsing Democrats in four Senate races, backing Rep. Angie Craig in Minnesota, Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan and Jordan Wood in Maine. … On the GOP side, Rep. Bill Huizenga's decision to forgo a Senate bid followed a meeting where Trump explicitly asked him to clear the way for Mike Rogers, NOTUS' Reese Gorman reports.
Race for the states: Obama will lead a fundraiser for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee next month in Martha's Vineyard, POLITICO's Andrew Howard scooped, as Dem fears grow that Republicans will gerrymander their way into another House majority.
FOR PETE'S SAKE: 'Hegseth Signal messages came from email classified 'SECRET,' watchdog told,' by WaPo's Dan Lamothe and John Hudson: 'The revelation appears to contradict long-standing claims by the Trump administration that no classified information was divulged in unclassified group chats that critics have called a significant security breach.'
TRADING PLACES: In Trump's latest remarks, the president said all the reciprocal tariffs coming Aug. 1 will range from 15 to 50 percent, per Bloomberg — a higher baseline than he'd indicated previously. In a remarkable demonstration of how much Trump has shifted the Overton window, markets rose on the news of a U.S.-Japan deal that will see America impose 15 percent tariffs, NYT's Ana Swanson notes.
Grain of salt: Japan providing an extraordinary $550 billion investment fund that Trump can direct was apparently crucial to getting him to agree with Tokyo, Swanson reports. But the agreement raised fears from the auto industry that the U.S. had given away too much and damaged automakers, Bloomberg's Jennifer Dlouhy and Josh Wingrove report.
BEZOS BULLETIN: Billionaire Jeff Bezos is thinking about trying to add to his media portfolio by exploring a purchase of CNBC, the N.Y. Post's Alexandra Steigrad scooped. But turmoil continues at Bezos' WaPo: Krissah Thompson, Ann Gerhart, Monica Norton, Mike Semel, Lori Montgomery and Hank Stuever are taking the latest buyout, N.Y. Mag's Charlotte Klein reports, and the opinion section is staring down a more intense ideological funneling than some had expected.
FILLING THE SWAMP: 'K Street rakes in record cash thanks to Trump,' by POLITICO's Caitlin Oprysko: 'The first six months of President Donald Trump's term have produced a cash cow of historic magnitude for the lobbying industry, with record-breaking demand for help navigating the administration's constant stream of policy pronouncements — or trying to avoid becoming a pay-for in the GOP's megabill.'
A NEW ONE FOR YOUR INBOX: Want to know how health care regulation, tariffs or court rulings could ripple through the economy? POLITICO's flagship financial newsletter has a new Friday edition built for the economic era we're living in. Each week, 'Morning Money: Capital Risk' brings sharp reporting and analysis on how political risk moves markets and how investors are adapting. Sign up here.
TALK OF THE TOWN
Benjamin Franklin is featured on new 250th-anniversary stamps from the Postal Service.
Ro Khanna recorded an episode of Barstool's Macrodosing with @PFTCommenter and Arian Foster.
Pete Buttigieg is making another appearance on The Breakfast Club.
Russ Vought reportedly billed the CFPB $5 million for his security detail.
BOOK CLUB — Joe Biden's upcoming memoir has gone to the Hachette Book Group's Little, Brown & Co., WSJ's Jeffrey Trachtenberg scooped. The price was roughly $10 million, less than Barack and Michelle Obama or Bill Clinton sold their memoirs for.
PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — 'DC Council chair reaches agreement with Commanders on stadium plans,' by News4's Mark Segraves: 'The agreement opens the door for the D.C. Council to vote after it holds public hearings on the stadium buildout on July 28 and 29.'
OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a Coalition for App Fairness happy hour, celebrating the introduction/reintroduction of the App Store Freedom Act and Open App Markets Act, at Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar on Tuesday night: Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), Corie Wright, Will Cunningham, Avery Gardiner, Christine Bannan, Luther Lowe, Adam Candeub, Aiden Buzzetti, Abbie Sumbrum, J.B. Branch, Collin Anderson, Dylan Irlbeck, Emily Goldman, Emma Salas, Dhruv Kathuria, Doxey Loupassi, Nicole Manley, Will Smith, Shourya Jain and Avanti Joshi.
— SPOTTED at a reception hosted by the American Trucking Associations' Women in Motion Council yesterday evening at the Capitol as part of its fly-in: Reps. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Mike Bost (R-Ill.), Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), Tom Barrett (R-Mich.) and Zach Nunn (R-Iowa).
— The Science and Technology Action Committee hosted a reception in Dirksen last night to talk about the importance of science/tech research and development investments, including land-grant university leaders from red states. SPOTTED: Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Reps. Jim Baird (R-Ind.) and Deborah Ross (D-N.C.), Mary Woolley, Sudip Parikh, Keith Yamamoto, Chris Nomura, Isabelle Ferain, Nathan Hartman, Mike Roman and Barbara Bichelmeyer.
— N Street Village held an event at Heather McHugh's home last night to support women experiencing homelessness in D.C. SPOTTED: Arielle Elliott, Sara Conrad, Missy Kurek, Hillary Baltimore, Ruth Sorenson, Peter Shields, Jessica Zielke, Monique Frazier, Katreice Banks, Michael Long, Ashley Jones, Kasey Crowley, Jenn Chandler, Terri McCullough, Molly Carey, Lindsey Schulte, David Ochsman, Emily Loeb and Sarah Feldman, Katie Johnson Rawlings, Elizabeth Wise and Jonathan Misk.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — HB Strategies is adding Jay Perron as managing principal and Rachael Taylor as principal on its federal team. Perron most recently was a partner at Prism Group Public Affairs. Taylor most recently was chief of staff to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
— Michael Ahrens is joining FGS Global as managing director in its strategic comms division. He most recently was managing director at Bullpen Strategy Group, and is an RNC and Marco Rubio alum.
TRANSITIONS — Danielle Sassoon is now a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. She previously was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, from which she resigned in protest of Justice Department leadership. … The National Association of Manufacturers is adding Christine Ravold and elevating Joe Murphy as directors of strategic comms. Ravold previously was regional comms manager at Stand Together. Murphy previously was director of rapid response. … Juliette Chandler is now deputy comms director for Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi's (D-Ill.) Senate campaign. She most recently was digital director and press secretary for Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.). …
… Acting Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas has named Sharon Rose as COO, Shannon Royce as chief of staff and Amanda Smith as director of the Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs. Rose previously was senior counsel to the Office of the Solicitor at the Labor Department. Royce is a Trump HHS alum. Smith most recently co-led government affairs comms at Lockheed Martin, and is an RNC alum. … Megan Smith Thorpe is joining the Digital Chamber as comms director. She most recently was at Kraken, and is a Roy Cooper alum. … James Burnham has launched the AI Innovation Council, per the N.Y. Post's Josh Christenson. He previously was a top lawyer at DOGE and is a DOJ alum.
BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): WaPo's Liza Pluto
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) … Margo Martin (3-0) … NYT's Zolan Kanno-Youngs … Vox Global's Robert Hoopes … John Brabender of BrabenderCox … POLITICO's Jessica Piper … WSJ's Kim Strassel … Daily Wire's Brent Scher … CNBC's Eamon Javers … Covington & Burling's Christina Coleburn … Hillary Parkinson of Rep. Keith Self's (R-Texas) office … former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) … Megan Ruane of Rep. Madeleine Dean's (D-Pa.) office … Allie Bedell of Canvass America … Ann Berry (7-0) … WaPo's Veronica Bautista … Chris Bond of AHIP … former Reps. Vin Weber (R-Minn.) and Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) … CBS' Michelle Kessel … David Fuscus … former RNC Chair Marc Racicot … Christianné Allen Hughes … Adriane Casalotti of the National Association of County and City Health Officials … The Sentry's Greg Hittelman … Joel Benenson … Ryan Sims … Agustina Pardal … Pat Oliphant (9-0) … Sara Plana of Sen. Tammy Duckworth's (D-Ill.) office
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