Trump asks court to unseal Epstein grand jury testimony but still won't release files at center of uproar: Live updates
The president has now instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release 'pertinent' files on the criminal investigation into Epstein, 'subject to Court approval.'
Late Friday afternoon, Bondi filed a motion in New York 'to release grand jury transcripts associated with" the Epstein case. The Justice Department and FBI still retain the bulk of what those calling for transparency are demanding to see.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have asked Bondi in a letter about the FBI 's review of those files, specifically why it took an additional three months to release a memorandum on the findings, and why agents were instructed to flag any mention of Trump.
This follows a bombshell report by The Wall Street Journal which a bawdy message and doodle from Trump among an album of letters celebrating Epstein's 50th birthday.
The president has denied that the drawing or letter was his doing and is now suing the Journal, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, and two journalists.
Pranksters fill Trump Tower gift shop with merch featuring pictures of Epstein with the president
Pranksters filled Trump Tower's gift shop with merchandise featuring pictures of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein with the president.
The Good Liars, a political comedy duo of Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, posted photos of postcards with an old photograph of Donald Trump and Epstein they say were among the souvenirs at the president's Manhattan skyscraper.
The duo confirmed to The Independent they were responsible for the prank. The Independent reached out to the Trump Tower store and a representative declined to confirm the incident or comment further.
A similar prank was recently carried out in London when activists put the same old photo of Trump and Epstein on a bus shelter near the U.S. embassy ahead of the president's state visit to the United Kingdom in September, according to an Instagram post from the group Everyone Hates Elon.
Pranksters fill Trump Tower gift shop with pictures of Epstein with the president
The prank comes as the Trump administration is embroiled in controversy surrounding files in the criminal investigation of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
Rachel Dobkin19 July 2025 11:00
Timeline of Trump's relationship with Epstein
President Donald Trump had socialized with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein decades ago when he was a New York real estate mogul.
In his second presidential term, Trump has been embroiled in controversy surrounding the feds' unreleased files on Epstein, a convicted sex offender who faced federal sex trafficking charges when he died in jail in 2019.
Trump's past connection with Epstein has also been under scrutiny as of late. Here is a timeline of their relationship, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal:
1992: Trump and Epstein are taped by NBC partying at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
2002: Trump tells New York magazine, 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy.'
2008: Epstein pleads guilty in Florida to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. Trump has said his relationship with Epstein ended before Epstein pleaded guilty to the sex offense.
2019: Epstein is arrested on federal charges related to the sexual abuse of dozens of minor girls, and Trump, who is in his first term as president, said he hadn't talked to Epstein for roughly 15 years. He said in the Oval Office at the time, 'I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.'
Rachel Dobkin19 July 2025 10:00
ICYMI: Poster of Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein put up in London ahead of state visit
A poster of Donald Trump with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was put up in London ahead of the president's state visit to the United Kingdom in September.
Rachel Dobkin19 July 2025 09:00
ANALYSIS: The Wall Street Journal's Trump story has united MAGA on the Epstein saga over their universal hatred of one thing
Justin Baragona writes:
More than a week after Donald Trump's base looked like it might be fracturing over the Justice Department's 'no client list' Jeffrey Epstein memo, MAGA world got its 'perfect offramp' in the ongoing saga thanks to the Wall Street Journal's latest bombshell.
While on the surface the WSJ's story – which the president fought tooth and nail to keep from being published – should have inflamed the turmoil on the right as it further exposed just how close the president once was with the deceased sex trafficker, it instead offered MAGA pundits and influencers the chance to join Trump in lambasting their shared enemy – the mainstream press.
Read on...
WSJ's Trump story unites MAGA on Epstein in their hatred of one thing
For days, Donald Trump couldn't get his MAGA base to drop their anger over the Epstein files. However, as Justin Baragona writes, it appears that the Wall Street Journal's bombshell report gives the right the perfect opportunity to unite in its shared hatred of the mainstream media.
Oliver O'Connell19 July 2025 08:00
Trump's $9bn clawback against PBS and NPR may have bought him a post-summer government shutdown
All of the chaos caused by the bombshell report in The Wall Street Journal that President Donald Trump sent a bawdy 50th birthday note to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein masked the fact he received a significant win.
Republicans successfully passed legislation in the late night to claw back $9 billion meant for foreign aid, as well as for PBS and NPR funding.
Eric Garcia reports on how Republicans achieved something on their wishlist for decades... and what might come next.
Trump's $9B clawback against PBS and NPR may bring him a government shutdown
President has circumvented the government appropriations process and that may heap pain on him come fall
Oliver O'Connell19 July 2025 07:00
How the Epstein files saga has unfolded during Trump's presidency
Jeffrey Epstein may have been dead for six years, but the circumstances surrounding his death and the evidence supporting federal charges of child sex trafficking continue to make headlines.
Here's how talk of the case came storming back into the national conversation.
The Epstein Files: How the saga unfolded within Trump's administration
Full timeline of how Jeffrey Epstein investigation file caused rift in Trump's MAGA base
Oliver O'Connell19 July 2025 06:00
Flashback: Fox News asks Trump if he'll declassify the Epstein Files in 2024
Rachel Dobkin19 July 2025 05:00
The Epstein List: Full list of names from unsealed court records
In January 2024, a court unsealed nearly 1,000 pages of documents collected as evidence in a lawsuit filed by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell.
Giuffre died by suicide on April 26 at her home in Neergabby, Australia.
Among more than 100 people mentioned in those documents were Trump, Prince Andrew, and former President Bill Clinton.
Being named in these documents does not indicate any wrongdoing related to Epstein or anyone else. The list includes many of Epstein's accusers and alleged victims, as well as people with only tangential connections to Epstein who were pulled into the lawsuit against Maxwell.
While judges, court staff, and legal representatives are excluded, here are some of the names that do appear in the legal records connected to Epstein:
The Epstein List: Full list of names revealed in unsealed court records
Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton are among the names included in court documents
Oliver O'Connell19 July 2025 04:30
Trump wants the Epstein grand jury transcripts released. That's a tiny portion of the files his administration has on the case
The Trump administration has asked a judge to unseal grand jury transcripts in Jeffrey Epstein's case. But that's just a fraction of the so-called 'Epstein files' that have torn the MAGA movement's world wide open.
Public pressure has mounted in the days since the Justice Department announced an anticlimactic end to the Epstein saga, stating there was no evidence to support a 'client list' of associates, whom some claim Epstein blackmailed, over their alleged involvement in his trafficking scheme.
For days, the White House has been consumed by the Epstein uproar with conservative commentators and prominent Republicans alike demanding increased transparency around the late disgraced financier's case.
The president, who campaigned on releasing the so-called 'Epstein files', alleged they were a 'hoax' made up by Democrats.
Trump wants Epstein grand jury transcripts released — a tiny portion of the files
'This is Donald Trump's effort…to gaslight you into thinking they're turning over the Epstein files, when in reality, they're turning over nothing that is relevant to what everybody deserves to know' one lawmaker slammed
Rachel Dobkin19 July 2025 04:00
Trump tired of defending Pam Bondi's handling of Epstein files: report
President Donald Trump has grown tired of defending Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of government files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and wants her to take responsibility for fixing the situation, NBC News reported, citing four people familiar with the matter.
Trump has stood by his attorney general despite the backlash the administration has faced after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo earlier this month saying there was never any client list from the wealthy financier, which some suspect would expose powerful people who may have partaken in Epstein's crimes.
'I do think that he likes and respects Pam, but she has without question caused some headaches for them,' one of NBC News' sources said. 'At the end of the day, at this point she is almost assuredly is just doing what she is told, so I believe she is very safe, but has had missteps.'
When asked about the White House's opinion of Bondi's job performance, one senior White House official told the outlet they thought the situation had 'stabilized.'
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to the Independent: 'Attorney General Pam Bondi is working tirelessly to end the weaponization that has rotted our justice system, remove violent criminals from our streets, and help President Trump in making America safe again. The president is appreciative of her efforts.'
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The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
FACT FOCUS: Trump claims cashless bail increases crime, but data is inconclusive
As his administration faces mounting pressure to release Justice Department files related the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, President Donald Trump is highlighting a different criminal justice issue — cashless bail. He suggested in a Truth Social post this week that eliminating cash bail as a condition of pretrial release from jail has led to rising crime in U.S. cities that have enacted these reforms. However, studies have shown no clear link. Here's a closer look at the facts. TRUMP: 'Crime in American Cities started to significantly rise when they went to CASHLESS BAIL. The WORST criminals are flooding our streets and endangering even our great law enforcement officers. It is a complete disaster, and must be ended, IMMEDIATELY!' THE FACTS: Data has not determined the impact of cashless bail on crime rates. But experts say it is incorrect to claim that there is an adverse connection. 'I don't know of any valid studies corroborating the President's claim and would love to know what the Administration offers in support,' said Kellen Funk, a professor at Columbia Law School who studies pretrial procedure and bail bonding. 'In my professional judgment I'd call the claim demonstrably false and inflammatory.' Jeff Clayton, executive director of the American Bail Coalition, the main lobbying arm of the cash bail industry, also pointed to a lack of evidence. 'Studies are inconclusive in terms of whether bail reforms have had an impact on overall crime numbers,' he said. 'This is due to pretrial crime being a small subset of overall crime. It is also difficult to categorize reforms as being 'cashless' or not, i.e., policies where preventative detention is introduced as an alternative to being held on bail.' Different jurisdictions, different laws In 2023, Illinois became the first state to completely eliminate cash bail when the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law abolishing it. The move was part of an expansive criminal justice overhaul adopted in 2021 known as the SAFE-T Act. Under the change, a judge decides whether to release the defendant prior to their trial, weighing factors such as their criminal charges, if they could pose any danger to others and if they are considered a flight risk. Loyola University of Chicago's Center for Criminal Justice published a 2024 report on Illinois' new cashless bail policy, one year after it went into effect. It acknowledges that there is not yet enough data to know what impact the law has had on crime, but that crime in Illinois did not increase after its implementation. Violent and property crime declined in some counties. A number of other jurisdictions, including New Jersey, New Mexico and Washington, D.C., have nearly eliminated cash bail or limited its use. Many include exceptions for high-level crimes. Proponents of eliminating cash bail describe it as a penalty on poverty, suggesting that the wealthy can pay their way out of jail to await trial while those with fewer financial resources have to sit it out behind bars. Critics have argued that bail is a time-honored way to ensure defendants released from jail show up for court proceedings. They warn that violent criminals will be released pending trial, giving them license to commit other crimes. A lack of consensus Studies have shown mixed results regarding the impact of cashless bail on crime. Many focus on the recidivism of individual defendants rather than overall crime rates. A 2024 report published by the Brennan Center for Justice saw 'no statistically significant relationship' between bail reform and crime rates. It looked at crime rate data from 2015 through 2021 for 33 cities across the U.S., 22 of which had instituted some type of bail reform. Researchers used a statistical method to determine if crime rates had diverged in those with reforms and those without. Ames Grawert, the report's co-author and senior counsel in the Brennan Center's Justice Program, said this conclusion "holds true for trends in crime overall or specifically violent crime.' Similarly, a 2023 paper published in the American Economic Journal found no evidence that cash bail helps ensure defendants will show up in court or prevents crime among those who are released while awaiting trial. The paper evaluated the impact of a 2018 policy instituted by the Philadelphia's district attorney that instructed prosecutors not to set bail for certain offenses. A 2019 court decree in Harris County, Texas, requires most people charged with a misdemeanor to be released without bail while awaiting trial. The latest report from the monitoring team responsible for tracking the impact of this decision, released in 2024, notes that the number of people arrested for misdemeanors has declined by more than 15% since 2015. The number of those rearrested within one year has similarly declined, with rearrest rates remaining stable in recent years. Asked what data Trump was using to support his claim, the White House pointed to a 2022 report from the district attorney's office in Yolo County, California, that looked at how a temporary cashless bail system implemented across the state to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in courts and jails impacted recidivism. It found that out of 595 individuals released between April 2020 and May 2021 under this system, 70.6% were arrested again after they were released. A little more than half were rearrested more than once. A more recent paper, published in February by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, also explored the effects of California's decision to suspend most bail during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reports that implementation of this policy 'caused notable increases in both the likelihood and number of rearrests within 30 days.' However, a return to cash bail did not impact the number of rearrests for any type of offense. The paper acknowledges that other factors, such as societal disruption from the pandemic, could have contributed to the initial increase. Many contributing factors It is difficult to pinpoint specific explanations for why crime rises and falls. The American Bail Coalition's Clayton noted that other policies that have had a negative impact on crime, implemented concurrently with bail reforms, make it 'difficult to isolate or elevate one or more causes over the others.' Paul Heaton, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies criminal justice interventions, had a similar outlook. 'Certainly there are some policy levers that people look at — the size of the police force and certain policies around sentencing,' he said. 'But there's a lot of variation in crime that I think even criminologists don't necessarily fully understand.'
The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why are data nerds racing to save US government statistics?
The data nerds are fighting back. After watching data sets be altered or disappear from U.S. government websites in unprecedented ways after President Donald Trump began his second term, an army of outside statisticians, demographers and computer scientists have joined forces to capture, preserve and share data sets, sometimes clandestinely. Their goal is to make sure they are available in the future, believing that democracy suffers when policymakers don't have reliable data and that national statistics should be above partisan politics. 'There are such smart, passionate people who care deeply about not only the Census Bureau, but all the statistical agencies, and ensuring the integrity of the statistical system. And that gives me hope, even during these challenging times,' Mary Jo Mitchell, director of government and public affairs for the research nonprofit the Population Association of America, said this week during an online public data-users conference. 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'Gender' switched to 'sex' In February, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's official public portal for health data, was taken down entirely but subsequently went back up. Around the same time, when a query was made to access certain public data from the U.S. Census Bureau's most comprehensive survey of American life, users for several days got a response that said the area was 'unavailable due to maintenance' before access was restored. Researchers Janet Freilich and Aaron Kesselheim examined 232 federal public health data sets that had been modified in the first quarter of this year and found that almost half had been 'substantially altered," with the majority having the word 'gender' switched to 'sex,' they wrote this month in The Lancet medical journal. One of the most difficult tasks has been figuring out what's been changed since many of the alterations weren't recorded in documentation. 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Experts' committee unofficially revived Separately, a group of outside experts has unofficially revived a long-running U.S. Census Bureau advisory committee that was killed by the Trump administration in March. Census Bureau officials won't be attending the Census Scientific Advisory Committee meeting in September, since the Commerce Department, which oversees the agency, eliminated it. But the advisory committee will forward its recommendations to the bureau, and demographer Allison Plyer said she has heard that some agency officials are excited by the committee's re-emergence, even if it's outside official channels. 'We will send them recommendations but we don't expect them to respond since that would be frowned upon,' said Plyer, chief demographer at The Data Center in New Orleans. 'They just aren't getting any outside expertise ... and they want expertise, which is understandable from nerds.' ___ ——
The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
221 MPs call for Britain to recognise Palestinian state amid starvation in Gaza
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