
Vance dinner seen as potential way to clear the air between Bondi and Patel on Epstein scandal
As of Wednesday afternoon, administration officials familiar with the meeting said the dinner was now in flux, given its intense coverage, and it was unclear whether it would ultimately be called off, moved to another location or rescheduled.
Bondi and Patel's tense relationship was thrown into the spotlight last month after a contentious White House meeting with chief of staff Susie Wiles over the handling of the Epstein case. That meeting also prompted questions about FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino's future with the administration.
In the hours and days after the blowup, Vance tried to smooth over the conflict, fielding calls from Bondi, Patel and Bongino in between rides with his family at Disneyland. The vice president achieved his mission, one person familiar told CNN, and Bongino went back to work the next Monday — though three administration officials said they believe he will likely eventually leave his post and return to hosting his podcast once the Epstein blowback subsides.
Vance was expected to reprise his peacemaker role again Wednesday. Sources told CNN the dinner would be a good opportunity to realign.
'It's a way to get everyone together in an informal, low-stakes situation,' one source briefed on the dinner told CNN.
CNN previously reported that Wiles, Bondi, Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche were expected to gather at Vance's residence Wednesday evening as the administration weighs whether to publish an audio recording and transcript of Blanche's recent conversation with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
The administration's handling of the Epstein case, as well as the need to craft a unified response, was expected to be a main focus of the dinner.
Vance's office denied such a meeting was taking place.
'As we've said publicly, there was never a supposed meeting scheduled at the Vice President's residence to discuss Epstein Strategy. Any reporting to the contrary is false,' William Martin, Vance's communications director, said in a statement.
The Justice Department declined to comment, deferring to the vice president's office. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Despite talks of canceling the dinner, two officials said it could still take place, though the location may change. They argued the focus of the meeting would likely be broader than solely discussing the administration's handling of the Epstein case.
The group sitdown, if it moves forward, comes after Patel had been traveling for several weeks, opening field offices in New Zealand and Australia. Some officials said they believe this could be the ideal time for a reset, as the White House seeks to reclaim the narrative around the Epstein case and present a unified front after weeks on the defensive.
Months before the Department of Justice released a memo on the Epstein case that contradicted many of the conspiracy theories surrounding the investigation, tension was already quietly building between the FBI and Department of Justice, multiple sources told CNN. FBI leadership griped behind closed doors that Bondi was spending more time on Fox News talking about the Epstein files than actually reviewing them, despite the agency having delivered the files to her office weeks prior, those sources said.
FBI officials cringed when Bondi indicated in a Fox News interview in February that the Epstein client list was sitting on her desk, those sources added, as it had already been determined that there was no official client list that would be released.
And when the memo — which contradicted many of the conspiracy theories circulating in far-right circles about Epstein — was finally released, it was Patel and Bongino who bore the brunt from the MAGA right, after they'd repeatedly promised full transparency.
During the meeting with Wiles last month, Bondi, Patel and Bongino clashed over the handling of the investigation and Bongino was accused of leaking negative stories about Bondi. The deputy director denied the allegations and stormed out of the meeting, later telling Patel and others that he might not return to his post.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NYC mayoral hopeful Curtis Sliwa's group bills itself a charity despite losing tax-exempt status
NEW YORK —Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa's crime prevention group, the Guardian Angels, is soliciting donations while portraying itself as a tax-exempt charity — even though it was stripped of that status years ago amid tax issues and legal troubles involving the organization's longtime treasurer, according to a Daily News review of federal and state records. The Guardian Angels, which Sliwa founded in 1979 and still controls as CEO, hasn't filed a 990 Form with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service since 2019, the IRS's publicly available nonprofit database shows. In that database, the group's legal business name is listed as Alliance of Guardian Angels, Inc. The 990 Form is the equivalent of a tax return for a charitable organization, and due to the Guardian Angels' failure to file 990s three years in a row, the IRS revoked its tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity designation in November 2022, per a notice included on the group's profile in the database. The revocation came a year after Rafael Alvarez, the Guardian Angels' now-former treasurer, landed in trouble with the U.S. Department of Justice, which forced his accounting firm, ATAX, to shutter permanently in 2021 due to a suspicion he was filing fraudulent returns for clients — a case that eventually resulted in Alvarez pleading guilty to criminal charges. Despite the charity status, the Guardian Angels has continued to describe itself as a 501(c)(3) group on its website, including on a page where it's asking supporters for money. 'The Alliance of Guardian Angels is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization founded in 1979 in New York City,' a banner reads on the page soliciting contributions via a big red 'donate' button that sends supporters to a PayPal page if they click it. 'Our mission is to provide positive role models for today's youth and work toward promoting community safety and betterment for the good of society overall.' According to legal experts, falsely portraying a group as a 501(c)(3) can result in fines and even criminal charges, especially if the misrepresentation involves the solicitation of donations. Taxpayers who donate to nonprofit charities who've lost their 501(c)(3) status can, in turn, also end up getting in trouble with the IRS if they claim their contributions as tax deductible. 'When a charitable nonprofit is no longer recognized as tax-exempt, it will be required to pay income taxes on revenue, including donations, and donors will no longer be able to deduct contributions to the organization,' according to the National Council of Nonproifts. IRS' press office didn't immediately return a request for comment this week. In addition to the IRS delinquencies, the Guardian Angels hasn't submitted tax filings with the New York state attorney general's office as required since 2019, either, an AG spokeswoman confirmed. The spokeswoman wouldn't comment further, but the AG's office typically works with delinquent nonprofits to try to get them into compliance before taking any enforcement action. Sliwa's campaign referred questions to Mario Kranjac, an attorney for the Guardian Angels, who blamed the filing failures on Alvarez, who served as the group's treasurer for over a decade and was personally friendly with Sliwa. Kranjac said the Guardian Angels believed all tax returns had been filed properly by Alvarez. 'Curtis Sliwa had no involvement in financial filings,' said Kranjac, an ex-mayor of Englewood, N.J. who mounted an unsuccessful Republican bid for governor of the state this year. 'The Guardian Angels are allowed to continue operating and are taking steps to correct the issue with counsel.' The tax troubles involving the Guardian Angels, whose members have been known for doing street and subway 'safety patrols,' are emerging as Sliwa is gearing up his GOP bid for mayor ahead of November's election. The revelations about the tax filing failures — and previously unreported details about Alvarez's role in the Guardian Angels' finances — could cast a shadow over Sliwa as he campaigns heavily on an anti-corruption message. It also raises questions about how, as mayor, Sliwa would manage a city with an annual budget of $116 billion, in addition to his own campaign, which just on Wednesday received $1.9 million in public matching funds. Alvarez served as the Guardian Angels' treasurer between 2010 and 2024, per his LinkedIn profile. Before the Guardians abruptly stopped submitting 990s, Alvarez and his accounting firm used to prepare and handle all of the group's federal and state tax filings, The News' review found. In those filings, Alvarez identified himself both as the group's treasurer and accountant. An attorney for Alvarez — who's currently in prison — didn't say why he stopped filing the group's taxes in 2019. The attorney, Michael Bachrach, did say he wasn't sure whether Alvarez ever filed fraudulent tax forms for the Guardian Angels. 'There were over 80,000 tax returns disclosed in discovery in that case, some fraudulent and other perfectly lawful,' said Bachrach. 'I don't recall whether Guardian Angels were amongst them.' When Alvarez had his firm shuttered by the feds in June 2021, he was already under criminal investigation by the DOJ over suspicions he had helped clients file tax returns with the IRS claiming fraudulent deductions for fictitious charity donations, medical costs and other expenses in order to lower their tax burdens, according to his indictment and other filings made in his case. In April 2024, the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office indicted Alvarez on charges alleging he had orchestrated a sprawling tax fraud scheme between 2010 and 2020 — spanning the period when he was handling the Guardian Angels' books — in which he and his firm stole $145 million from the IRS. His indictment alleged Alvarez was known as 'The Magician' among his clients because of the advanced methods he used to defraud the IRS. This spring, Alvarez was sentenced to four years in prison, ordered to forfeit more than $11 million and pay, together with any clients identified as having participated in the scheme, $145 million in restitution to the U.S. government. Alvarez's indictment doesn't identify his clients, but prosecutors wrote in court papers this spring some of them are being made to pay years' worth of back taxes. The Guardian Angels, which as a 501(c)(3) was exempt from most — but not all — federal and state taxes, isn't referenced in Alvarez's indictment and hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing. Sliwa and Alvarez go back personally, and he has over the years hyped up Alvarez's business many times on the radio. Speaking on his talk radio show in 2012, Sliwa called Alvarez 'my very cumpà,' Italian slang that translates to close friend, and told listeners in need of tax help: 'You need to talk to a professional, and the best is Rafael Alvarez.' Sliwa's group also gave Alvarez its coveted 'Red Beret Award' in 2011. On the campaign trail, Sliwa has vowed to turn the page on the dysfunction and corruption he argues has marred Mayor Adams' time at City Hall, pointing to the incumbent's federal bribery indictment, which was quashed this spring by President Trump's DOJ as part of a controversial arrangement. Sliwa ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2021, clinching about 28% compared to the 67% received by Adams, the Democratic mayoral nominee in that race. Sliwa's seen as having a better shot this year, as the city's Democratic vote could be fractured by the fact that, in addition to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, Adams and Andrew Cuomo are running on independent lines on the November ballot. Attorney Jim Walden is on an independent line as well. Mamdani continues to poll as the favorite to win the November contest, with most surveys predicting Cuomo as the runner-up candidate. Sliwa has in a number of polls placed third, pulling more support than Adams. _____
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Says He'll Likely Name Temporary Fed Governor to Open Seat
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump indicated he would likely nominate a temporary Federal Reserve governor to fill the soon-to-be vacant seat on the central bank's board within the coming days, rather than use the seat to signal his choice to replace Jerome Powell as chairman. All Hail the Humble Speed Hump Mayor Asked to Explain $1.4 Billion of Wasted Johannesburg Funds Three Deaths Reported as NYC Legionnaires' Outbreak Spreads Major Istanbul Projects Are Stalling as City Leaders Sit in Jail PATH Train Service Resumes After Fire at Jersey City Station 'We're probably going to go with the temp and then a permanent,' Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House. 'I think the temp is going to be named, I'd say, over the next two, three days, and then we're going to go permanent.' Fed Governor Adriana Kugler announced last week that she plans to vacate her role on Aug. 8. That gives Trump a choice. He can elevate someone to serve out the rest of her term, which expires in January, and keep weighing his options for the more prominent chair role, or he can make a decision on the Fed chair role months earlier than he'd planned and announce that now. Several of those on Trump's Fed short list are outsiders, and the president isn't guaranteed to get another chance to name a new board member before Powell's term as chair expires in May. While Fed chairs typically step off the board when they step down, he does have the option to stay on and deny Trump a second opening. Powell's underlying post as a governor extends into 2028 and he has so far declined to reveal his plans. Advisers had encouraged the president to name a short-term pick first, simply to complete Kugler's term that expires in January. That approach would give Trump weeks or months more to interview candidates to serve as chair. And it's the strategy Trump said Wednesday he's leaning toward. Trump said he was considering 'probably' three candidates for the temporary position, adding that they could come from Wall Street. 'Yeah, essentially, we're all from Wall Street, aren't we, when you get right down to it?' Trump said. He added that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Vice President JD Vance were among the advisers participating in the process. Separately, Trump reiterated that he considered 'the two Kevins' — former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett — as top candidates for the Fed Chair role when it becomes open. --With assistance from Justin Sink. (Updates with additional details on Fed timing and selection process starting in fourth paragraph.) Russia's Secret War and the Plot to Kill a German CEO The Pizza Oven Startup With a Plan to Own Every Piece of the Pie AI Flight Pricing Can Push Travelers to the Limit of Their Ability to Pay Government Steps Up Campaign Against Business School Diversity The GOP Is Choosing Pesticides Over the MAHA Moms ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


CNN
8 minutes ago
- CNN
Army soldier charged with attempting to share sensitive data on US tanks with Russia
Russia Federal agencies US military National securityFacebookTweetLink Follow A 22-year-old US Army soldier in Texas was arrested Wednesday and charged with attempting to send sensitive information about US battle tanks to Russia, the Justice Department said in a news release. Federal prosecutors allege that Taylor Adam Lee, who is an active-duty service member stationed at Fort Bliss and possesses a very high, top-secret clearance, offered assistance to Russia and sent technical information about the M1A2 Abrams tank online in June. Lee, according to prosecutors, stated online that 'the USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses,' and said, 'At this point I'd even volunteer to assist the Russian federation when I'm there in any way.' Prosecutors also allege that in July, Lee, who holds a top secret/sensitive compartmented information (TS/SCI) clearance, attempted to provide sensitive information on tank vulnerabilities to a person he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer. At the end of the month, prosecutors allege, Lee delivered what appeared to be a piece of tank hardware to a storage unit in El Paso, Texas. After doing so, prosecutors say Lee sent a message to the individual that said, 'Mission accomplished.' In addition to the alleged violation of the Espionage Act – which makes it illegal to mishandle national defense information. Lee has also been charged with attempting to export controlled technical data without a license, a violation of the Arms Export Control Act. The government has requested that he be detained without bond, according to court documents. Lee made his initial appearance in federal court Wednesday, according to DOJ, and it was not immediately clear if he has retained an attorney. CNN has reached out to the Army for comment. Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, said in a statement Wednesday that Lee provided the information to the individual he believed worked for Russian intelligence in exchange for Russian citizenship. 'Today's arrest is a message to anyone thinking about betraying the U.S. – especially service members who have sworn to protect our homeland,' Rozhavsky added. The commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command, Brigadier General Sean F. Stinchon, labeled the arrest 'an alarming reminder of the serious threat' facing the US Army. 'Thanks to the hard work of Army Counterintelligence Command Special Agents and our FBI partners, Soldiers who violate their oath and become insider threats will absolutely be caught and brought to justice, and we will continue to protect Army personnel and safeguard equipment,' he said in a statement.