Latest news with #governmentdocuments
The Verge
6 days ago
- The Verge
The Internet Archive is now an official hub for government documents.
Posted Jul 25, 2025 at 6:36 PM UTC The Internet Archive is now an official hub for government documents. California Senator Alex Padilla granted the Internet Archive federal depository status, allowing it to more easily access and share government documents with the public. 'By being part of the program itself, it just gets us closer to the source of where the materials are coming from, so that it's more reliably delivered to the Internet Archive,' Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle told KQED . Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates. Emma Roth Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Emma Roth Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Web
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump foe Thomas Massie wins over MAGA allies with his push for Epstein files
WASHINGTON — Once fighting a lonely battle against President Donald Trump, GOP Rep. Thomas Massie has found an issue that is winning him more Republican friends and political allies than he has had all year: his push to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. Many of Trump's MAGA allies on and off Capitol Hill are frustrated with Trump and top officials in his administration for dragging their feet in releasing the government's remaining documents and records related to Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender. But they're rooting for Massie, who has leaned into the fight in recent weeks and made it his sole mission to get the files released. It is a rare issue on which Massie aligns more closely with many of Trump's own supporters than Trump himself. That's a big shift for Massie, a Kentucky conservative who was swimming against the current in his opposition to Trump's megabill by raising debt concerns that fell on deaf ears with other Republicans. Nearly a dozen House conservatives have signed on to Massie's resolution to defy Trump and force Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish 'all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials' that the Justice Department and FBI possess. Thirteen Democrats, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi of California and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, have joined the effort, as well. 'I have the people on my side,' Massie told reporters, pointing to a CBS News/YouGov poll that found that 89% of U.S. adults want all of the Epstein files released. Republicans split evenly in the CBS poll when they were asked whether they're 'satisfied' or 'dissatisfied' with Trump's handling of the Epstein case. That's very unusual for Trump, who tends to win lopsidedly high marks from self-identified Republicans on his handling of issues. A recent Quinnipiac University poll also found the GOP split about evenly when it comes to Trump's handling of the Epstein matter. The CBS poll found that Trump's overall approval rating has fallen to 42% but that 89% of Republicans approve of the job he has done in his first six months back in office. Massie leans into confrontation with Trump Massie is boldly going where no other Republican in Congress dares go: running for re-election while leaning into a confrontation with Trump, who has threatened to support a primary challenger to oust him in the GOP contest. Massie told NBC News that Trump and his allies are wasting their time, vowing that their efforts to unseat him will not only fail but also backfire. 'They've spent $1.8 million against me so far in my congressional district. I think it's had very little effect, but they're trying to beat up on me to keep everybody else in line here. and I think it's not working,' Massie said. 'I think it's going to backfire tremendously.' 'They're wasting millions of dollars against me, and they're going to lose the majority because of that,' he said. 'I think it will embolden Republicans who are right now, quietly, agreeing with me but saying: 'I'm afraid of winning my primary. Let's see if you can win yours, Massie.'' Massie's confidence drew a clapback from Calvin Moore, a former House GOP campaign operative, who said on X, 'How'd that work out for [Bob Good?],' referring to the former Virginia congressman who lost his 2024 primary to a Trump-backed challenger. Massie's foray into the Epstein saga has also sparked a personal, very public row between him and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Johnson, a Trump loyalist, said Wednesday that 'Republicans stand for maximum transparency and truth' and are 'pushing for the release of all credible information' about the Epstein matter, but he added that Massie's Epstein resolution with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., would provide no protection for victims' identities. 'We have ... a moral obligation to protect people who have been the victims of these unspeakable crimes so that their names are not drug through the mud,' Johnson said. A day earlier, Johnson invoked Massie at his weekly news conference, showing unusual frustration and saying that he was baffled by Massie's motivation in the Epstein matter and that 'some people seem to enjoy trying to inflict political pain on their own teammates.' Massie later told reporters that introducing his Epstein resolution now would give his effort momentum over the House's five-week summer recess, which begins Thursday. He and Khanna, Massie said, plan to file a so-called discharge petition to force a vote on their resolution when the House returns in September if they can win support from 218 members. Then, in a midnight post on X, Massie shot back at Johnson: '@SpeakerJohnson, why are you running cover for an underage sex trafficking ring and pretending this is a partisan issue? MAGA voted for this.' Johnson's office didn't respond to a request for comment about Massie's post. Johnson has repeatedly said anyone who has committed sex crimes should be prosecuted. And Massie's effort has been elevated by some podcasters credited with boosting Trump in the 2024 election, including Theo Von, who recently said on X, 'Why cant we put the @RoKhanna @RepThomasMassie bill for a vote this week @SpeakerJohnson @JDVance??' Von also publicly questioned why Vance isn't standing by his earlier comment on Von's own show that 'we need to release the Epstein list; that is an important thing.' Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Cory Mills of Florida and Nancy Mace of South Carolina are among the Republicans who have signed on to the Massie-Khanna resolution. Massie also has an ally in Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a fellow self-described libertarian who describes Massie as a good friend. 'I'm a big supporter of his, and vice versa. I'm planning a 10-city tour with him in September to support him, and we will do what it takes. We both represent sort of the liberty wing of the Republican Party,' Paul said. 'We want to make sure that we don't allow anybody to come in and try to defeat him.' Paul is the only GOP senator who voted against Trump's megabill because of debt concerns, but, unlike Massie, he doesn't face re-election until 2028. Paul said he's 'very confident' Massie will beat a Trump-backed challenge. 'He's the most fiscally conservative member of the House. He's the most pro-gun member of the House, most pro-Bill of Rights person in the House,' Paul said. 'Good sense of humor, travels the district and is somebody who pays attention to his constituents. I think he'll do well.' This article was originally published on
The Sun
19-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Wax seals will no longer be used on official government documents – ending centuries old tradition
BONKERS laws meaning some Government documents have to be sealed with WAX are being scrapped after hundreds of years. Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden is tearing up red tape which causes delays for staff working in taxpayer funded bodies. 1 They include a rule which forces the Intellectual Property Office, overseeing patents, to close some documents with an official wax 'seal of the Patent Office'. Wax seals were first used in England to seal documents just before the Norman Conquest of 1066. Edward the Confessor was the first English Monarch known to have used them. Some of the most important documents in British history were sealed with wax, including Charles I's death warrant and the decree ordering Anne Boleyn to be beheaded. The DVLA - which completes around 45,000 handwritten forms a year - will be able to do away with the need for paper. The Government is considering legislation to scrap these laws to help staff speed up processes. A Cabinet Office source said: 'You cannot solve today's problems with outdated laws designed for a different era. 'Modernising the state and removing bureaucracy will empower ministers to do what we promised - deliver the Plan for Change, improve public services and raise living standards.'
Forbes
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Epstein Files: FBI Agents Reportedly Told To ‘Flag' Docs Mentioning Trump
FBI agents who went through the government's documents on financier Jeffrey Epstein were directed to 'flag' any materials that mentioned President Donald Trump, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., alleged in letters Friday, as Democrats press FBI and DOJ leadership for information about their refusal to publicly release the Epstein files. Jeffrey Epstein (left) and now-President Donald Trump in 1997 at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm ... More Beach, Florida. Getty Images Durbin, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent letters Friday to Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, which direct them to answer a series of questions about the Epstein documents and the DOJ memo last week announcing the agency would not make them public. Anonymous sources told Durbin's office that FBI investigators tasked with reviewing the Epstein documents 'were instructed to 'flag' any records in which President Trump was mentioned,' as part of a broader 'haphazard' FBI review of the Epstein files that took place in March. Durbin asked Bondi, Patel and Bongino to answer why officials were told to flag Trump-related documents, what the agency did with any documents related to Trump, and for any log they've created of the materials that mentioned him. The Democrat also more broadly questioned the DOJ's memo, which said the government would not release any more Epstein files and shot down several theories about the financier's case, including the existence of a so-called Epstein 'client list' and that Epstein did not die by suicide. The memo 'directly contradicts' Bondi's previous public statements about the case, Durbin argued, in which the attorney general claimed an Epstein 'client list' was 'sitting on my desk right now' and that the public would see 'the full Epstein files.' The DOJ confirmed receipt of Durbin's letter to Forbes but declined to comment further, and the FBI has not yet responded to a request for comment. Durbin asked Bondi, Patel and Bongino to respond to a series of questions about the Epstein case by Aug. 1. In addition to the questions about documents mentioning Trump, Durbin also asked for information on whether they've personally reviewed all of the Epstein files, why Bondi claimed there was a 'client list' if the agency later said there wasn't, what happened in the months between the FBI's review of the Epstein files and the memo not to release them and why that memo was not signed by any specific DOJ or FBI officials. The senator also questioned the surveillance footage the government released showing the area outside Epstein's cell on the night he died amid controversy over whether that video was modified. He also referenced Thursday's report in The Wall Street Journal alleging Trump sent a letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday—which allegedly included a drawing of a naked woman and Trump referencing Epstein's 'secrets'—with Durbin asking whether the FBI reviewed that letter or other correspondence between Trump and Epstein. (Trump has denied the veracity of the letter and has threatened to sue News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch for publishing the report.) What Do We Know About Trump's Relationship With Epstein? Trump has never been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and the financier's alleged sex trafficking operation, but the president used to be friends with Epstein and has appeared in photos with the late financier. 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,' Trump told New York Magazine in 2002. 'He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' The president's name was on the flight logs for Epstein's private jets and was recorded in the financier's 'little black book,' but Trump has said he never visited Epstein's private island or took part in any sexual misconduct. Trump later said he had a 'falling out' with Epstein, which is believed to be tied to a 2004 real estate dispute, and said he was 'not a fan' of his former friend. The president has more recently criticized the demand to release more Epstein files, decrying the conspiracy theories over the Epstein case as a 'hoax' and disavowing his own supporters who have pushed for the documents. There is still so far no indication that the public uproar over the DOJ's refusal to disclose its Epstein files will result in any more documents becoming available. Trump and Bondi said Thursday they will ask the court to unseal grand jury documents in the case, but legal experts note those documents are typically secret and are only made public in very limited instances. Even if the grand jury materials were released, Democrats and legal experts have suggested it would likely consist of limited information that doesn't include the potentially explosive information about Epstein's associates the public is hoping for, and would be heavily redacted. Key Background Epstein is alleged to have abused more than 100 women before he was indicted in 2019 on sex trafficking charges, and he died in prison later that year. His case has remained a source of fascination due to the high-profile people he associated with, however—including Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew—which has sparked conspiracy theories about a 'client list,' Epstein's death and the government's lack of transparency by not releasing the Epstein files. (Clinton, like Trump, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and Prince Andrew has denied allegations against him.) Those theories were spread by many Trump allies on the right such as Patel and Bongino, and both FBI officials and Bondi repeatedly claimed they would release the Epstein files. Only one tranche of documents had been made public by the time the DOJ issued its memo last week, however—and those materials were largely already publicly available—and the announcement that no further files would be released sparked an outcry on the right and calls for Bondi to resign. Democrats have also pushed for more transparency around the Epstein files and the Trump administration's failure to release them, and have introduced legislation and other measures aimed at forcing the documents' release. Further Reading Forbes Trump Directs Bondi To Release Some Epstein Documents, Threatens To Sue Wall Street Journal And Murdoch By Siladitya Ray Forbes Trump Rips 'Weaklings' Who Criticized Handling Of Epstein Files—Calls It 'Big Hoax' By Sara Dorn Forbes Trump And Bondi Promised Epstein Grand Jury Docs—But It Doesn't Mean Anything Will Be Released Today Or Ever By Alison Durkee Forbes Trump Sounded Hesitant About Releasing Epstein Files In Newly Resurfaced Interview By Sara Dorn
Forbes
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Majority Of Americans Disapprove Of Trump's Handling Of Epstein Files In New Poll
More than half of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump's handling of the federal government's documents detailing its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new poll that comes as Trump is facing an onslaught of backlash from his base over the issue. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing the "Halt All Lethal Trafficking of ... More Fentanyl Act," which strengthens prison sentences for fentanyl traffickers, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 16, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images Just 17% of 1,027 adults surveyed by Reuters/Ipsos said they approve of Trump's handling of the issue, including just 35% of Republicans (the poll taken July 15-16 has a margin of error of 3). Sixty percent said they believe the government is hiding information on Epstein's death, including 55% of Republicans, while 69% said they believe the government is hiding Epstein's alleged client list, including 62% of Republicans. The poll comes as Trump is facing growing criticism on the right after the Justice Department announced last week it would not release any new information on its Epstein investigation and said the so-called 'Epstein list' of his clients does not exist, delivering a blow to conspiracists who have speculated on details of the Epstein case from the cause of his death to who is among his circle of high-profile associates. 6%. That's the share of respondents who disagreed with the statement that the government is hiding Epstein's alleged client list. What To Watch For Some on the right, including Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Laura Loomer, have called for Trump to appoint a special counsel to investigate the Epstein case. Trump said 'I have nothing to do with it' when asked by a reporter Wednesday if he would make the appointment. Key Background The Epstein controversy marks the most significant break with his base of his second term. MAGA loyalists from Loomer and Charlie Kirk to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have refused to heed Trump's plea to drop the issue. Attorney General Pam Bondi, in particular, has become a lightning rod for critics of Trump's handling of the case after she suggested earlier this year the so-called 'Epstein list' exists. Trump Rips 'Weaklings' Who Criticized Handling Of Epstein Files—Calls It 'Big Hoax' (Forbes) These MAGA Leaders Are Heeding Trump's Call And Backing Off 'Epstein List' (Forbes) Trump Sounded Hesitant About Releasing Epstein Files In Newly Resurfaced Interview (Forbes)
