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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