Latest news with #governmentfiles
The Independent
14 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Mike Johnson shuts Congress for summer to avoid dealing with Trump handling of Epstein files
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday ground the House of Representatives to a screeching halt in order to block Democrats from bringing up amendments calling for the release of files related to sex trafficking financier Jeffrey Epstein. The speaker's decision to virtually shut down procedure in the House of Representatives — a week before Congress' summer break — comes as President Donald Trump continues to receive criticism from all sides for his handling of the promised release of all government files related to Epstein. But Johnson's early recess could also impact the House's ability to keep the government open when they return and allow political crises to mushroom when members go back home to face their constituents. The move to halt the action of the House Rules committee came after Democrats repeatedly tried to introduce amendments to force the disclosure of files related to Epstein, who was found hanged in his New York prison cell in 2019. Johnson expressed his frustration over what he described as the Democrats' attempts to weaponize the Rules process, at times pounding his fist on the podium talking about Epstein, attacking the minority for their supposed hypocrisy for covering for former President Joe Biden's diminished state in the second half of his administration. 'We're not going to allow them to engage in that charade,' Johnson told reporters during his weekly press conference. 'They controlled the Department of Justice for the last four years. Has anyone forgotten they had all these files the entire time?' Republicans have hoped to shift the conversation more toward touting the merits of their 'One Big, Beautiful Bill' legislation that Trump signed into law on July 4. But the party fell into bedlam this month after the Justice Department in conjunction with the FBI released a two-page memo that determined that Epstein had no client list and that no ' further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.' That came despite the fact that many officials who would join the Trump administration such as Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino pledged they would release additional information about Epstein. Republicans came into further chaos when last week The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump allegedly sent a bawdy 50th birthday card message to Epstein, his former friend who he broke with before the feds began investigating him publicly. The president vehemently denied that he sent it and filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against the paper, its parent company News Corp and its founder Rupert Murdoch. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Johnson insisted that Trump wanted to get to the bottom of the story. 'Trump's in the courts right now trying to get a lot of that information unsealed so the American public can see it,' Scalise said. But Trump only announced he would ask Bondi to release grand jury transcripts after the WSJ reported its story. Trump himself has called the Epstein conspiracy theories over which he once fanned the flames a 'hoax' and now says 'my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker.' The halting of votes for the House Rules Committee means that the House will not be able to tee up votes to pass many of the spending bills that Congress hoped to pass before the August recess, when members break to go back to their districts. When it returns, Congress must pass its spending bills by the end of September to avoid a government shutdown. But Johnson might not then be able to avoid a vote on Epstein. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) teamed up with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to pass a discharge petition, which allow them to circumvent the committee process to bring a vote on releasing files related to Epstein to the floor. So far, many Republicans have joined onto the petition and every Democrat will likely sign on, much to the chagrin of Johnson. 'We're not going to play political games with this,' Johnson said. 'You have to allow the legislation to ripen, and you also have to allow the administration the space to do what it is doing.' Discharge petitions need seven legislative business days to ripen. The House broke late on Thursday evening into Friday morning last week and its last legislative day before the recess will be on Wednesday, meaning the petition will be kicked into when the House reconvenes in September. But even if the House were to pass Massie and Khanna's legislation, it would need to face a vote in the Senate, where it would face a more significant challenge. On Tuesday afternoon, Bill Gates, the multibillionaire co-founder of Microsoft who was a friend of Epstein, was roaming the basement of the Senate. He did not respond to questions from The Independent about disclosing files related to Epstein.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bondi faces skepticism on Epstein from chorus of GOP critics
Attorney General Pam Bondi is coming under criticism from congressional Republicans growing increasingly frustrated with her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files scandal, which has badly divided the party and is now throwing work in the House off the rails. GOP lawmakers joined MAGA World figures in blaming Bondi for earlier this year overhyping the release of the Epstein files, which raised expectations about what information the government had on the disgraced financier and pedophile. The Department of Justice and FBI eventually released a memo that found the official cause of Epstein's death was suicide and there was no 'client list,' which Bondi at one point had said was on her desk. The lack of more solid findings backing up theories about Epstein's death and the client list have only made the furor in MAGA World grow hotter, despite efforts by President Trump to cool it. 'She's probably a great attorney general, but she clearly has dropped the ball on that by saying 'the list is sitting on my desk' and then 'there isn't a list,'' Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), a supporter of more Epstein disclosures, sits on a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee task force charged with the disclosure of federal secrets. He expressed frustration over Bondi's move to convene influencers at the White House in May to claim there was more to the Epstein files. 'I wish she would communicate with the task force that I'm on, the disclosure task force,' Burlison said. 'We're members of Congress. Instead of bringing us in the loop, she brings in social media influencers. That, to me, is something I wish she would do differently.' Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has sought to quell the outrage even as he has called for transparency, and Trump has insisted that Bondi's standing is solid. But there has been a clear split in MAGA World and in the GOP ranks between those loyal to Bondi and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who on Friday was rumored to be considering leaving his post over the Epstein ordeal. Bongino is back at work now, but tensions appear to remain. When pressed if he has faith in Bondi and Bongino, Burchett said, 'I have faith in Dan Bongino.' Trump ally Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has stressed the need for a special counsel to investigate the handling of the files. Far-right activist Laura Loomer, another staunch Trump ally, was early to call for a special counsel probe and has bashed Bondi, arguing she hasn't been transparent. 'The president and this team are always in contact with the president's supporters, with voices of many kinds from both sides of the aisle,' press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday when asked if the White House has been directly in touch with MAGA influencers who aren't satisfied with the Epstein case. Leavitt also called Bondi, as well as Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel, 'great patriots.' 'They spent many months going through all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein,' she said. 'The president has been transparent. He has followed through with his promises to the American people.' Two sources told The Hill on Thursday that Johnson is discussing a measure in support of disclosing more information related to the Epstein investigation. The measure could take the pressure off of Bondi and minimize the outrage — and it comes as House Democrats push an amendment that calls for the full release of the materials related to the case. However, a key difference in the measure Johnson is discussing is that the names of victims and whistleblowers should be shielded. Some argue Bondi has solid support from Trump and that others calling for a probe could face a falling out with the White House team. 'Bondi is fine. Loomer [is] looking at a big loss,' one source close to the White House said. Some outside observers concurred, predicting that as with other Trump controversies, people will eventually drop it and back Trump's message. 'There are certainly several factions of the president's base that are divided on this issue but eventually they are going to fall into line,' said Ford O'Connell, a GOP strategist. '[Bondi] is the first attorney general Trump has had that can drive a message,' O'Connell continued. 'That is very, very important in that role because a lot of people think they know the law and they have no idea what the law is.' Firebrand support Bondi seemed to have fostered a relationship with one of the highest-profile members calling for the release of more Epstein materials: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). When Bondi last week announced she would drop charges against Michael Kirk Moore, a Utah doctor who was accused of throwing away COVID-19 vaccines and distributing fraudulent vaccination cards, Bondi credited Greene for bringing the case to her attention. Some firebrand members of Congress who have built social media followings but also rely on maintaining a good relationship with Trump are following the president's lead on the matter. 'I think the Justice Department is doing a fantastic job, and they've got a lot on their plate,' Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) said. 'And quite frankly, she's having to clean up a Justice Department that the Biden administration broke. In regards to the Epstein files, I mean, I trust her judgment. I trust the president's judgment.' Trump was asked Wednesday if he would consider appointing a special counsel. He distanced himself from the situation, telling reporters, 'I have nothing to do with it,' after earlier in the day saying the Epstein situation is a hoax started by Democrats. Leavitt said Thursday he would not recommend a special prosecutor in the case. Bondi toured the former Alcatraz prison Thursday in San Francisco with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, while the White House fielded questions over her handling of the Epstein files. Inside the White House, aides 'are stunned and there's genuine confusion around how this was handled,' a source familiar with the thinking of the team told The Hill. Aides aren't necessarily in Bondi or Bongino's camp but are seeking an explanation for Trump now calling for supporters to move on from the Epstein files. Without that, 'it's going to stick around and chip away at trust,' the source said. MAGA baggage Additional issues are likely hurting Bondi, a former Florida attorney general named as Trump's pick to lead the DOJ just hours after former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) withdrew himself from consideration for the role. Gaetz's nomination was hailed by MAGA supporters despite the controversies that have dogged him. Bondi, a senior adviser on Trump's first impeachment defense team, also worked at lobbying firm Ballard Partners, which was founded by Brian Ballard, a Florida lobbyist who was involved with Trump's 2016 campaign. Florida sources say the dynamic with Bondi in the MAGA movement has always been complicated. 'Ultimately Attorney General Bondi has a constituency of one,' said Republican donor Dan Eberhart, referring to the president. 'Beware the fate of Jeff Sessions.' Eberhart added that the GOP grassroots in Florida seem torn over Bondi. One Republican strategist acknowledged that Bondi 'over-promised and underdelivered' in her overall handling of the case. 'You bet she did,' the strategist said. 'This has been an administration that has been on offense on just about every possible thing that could come at them and this is the one thing that they did not unite on it.' 'Should you expect transparency? Yes, but there are certain aspects of the law that are not going to turn this into a tell all,' the strategist continued, referring to potential efforts to protect Epstein's victims. The strategist noted that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a Trump ally who represented the president in his 2024 criminal hush money trial in New York City, would back Bondi. 'Todd Blanche is going to bat for her,' the strategist said. Mychael Schnell contributed Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mike Johnson seeks to gloss over divisions with Trump over Epstein files
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is seeking to close the distance between himself and President Trump when it comes to the release of the government's files on Jeffrey Epstein, the pedophile financier whose sordid case has rattled the MAGA movement in recent days. On Tuesday, Johnson said the Trump administration 'should put everything out there and let the people decide,' marking a break with the president, who has urged his followers to forget Epstein and move on. But on Wednesday, Johnson said his words were 'misrepresented,' insisting there's no daylight between his position and that of Trump. 'Go watch the interview I did with Benny Johnson. I was very clear,' Johnson told reporters in the Capitol. 'We're for transparency. I'm saying the same thing the president is that, I mean, you need to have all of the credible information released for the American people to make their decision. We trust the American people. And I know the president does, as well, that's an important principle to abide by here.' Johnson went on to emphasize that any information released surrounding the Epstein case should exclude innocent figures, including the underage victims of Epstein's alleged sex trafficking crimes. 'What they have to do — what the president has to do — is protect the innocent,' he said. 'There are whistleblowers' and minors' names involved in things related to Epstein, obviously, and you've got to be careful not to release that.' The controversy surrounding the Epstein saga exploded this month after Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) released an unsigned memo asserting the government has no evidence that Epstein maintained a 'client list' or attempted to blackmail powerful figures who might have committed crimes with minors. The DOJ also stated the official cause of Epstein's death — by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 — was accurate. The memo directly contradicted claims made by some of Trump's most loyal followers inside and outside of government, who have maintained for years that Epstein's alleged sex trafficking network included wealthy, powerful figures in the public and private sectors alike and that the government was covering up the details of the case to protect those 'elites.' The skeptics also speculated Epstein was murdered in jail to keep him quiet — a narrative Trump has also advanced. Among the loudest voices promoting those theories are figures who now hold positions of high power in the Trump administration: Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, Patel's chief deputy. As recently as February — after she was sworn in as attorney general — Bondi said she had Epstein's client list on her desk and suggested she was ready to release it, only to reverse course this month to say there was no scandal to reveal. The saga has fractured Trump's MAGA supporters, and that divide is also pronounced on Capitol Hill, where some GOP lawmakers are urging the DOJ to release all the files, while others are joining Trump in calling for Congress to move on to other issues. Stoking the clash has been Elon Musk, the billionaire tech mogul and onetime Trump ally who has asserted that Trump doesn't want the Epstein files released for a simple reason: because he's implicated within them. Johnson had initially deferred to the White House on the question of how to handle the files. But on Tuesday, he told Benny Johnson, a conservative podcaster, that the DOJ should come clean and release all the pertinent records in its possession to put the speculation to rest. 'I'm for transparency,' Mike Johnson said in the interview with Benny Johnson. 'It's a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there, and let the people decide.' Amid the outcry, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has frequently clashed with Trump, introduced a procedural measure designed to force a House vote on legislation requiring the DOJ to release the files. It's unclear if the resolution, known as a discharge petition, will secure the 218 signatures needed to force that vote, but at least one other high-profile Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), has already signaled her support. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rosie O'Donnell Fires Back at Trump Citizenship Threat With Deadly Epstein Jab
Rosie O'Donnell hit back at Donald Trump's threat to strip her citizenship by taking a dig at his crisis over the government's files on accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The comedian, who fled to Ireland after Trump's second election win, posted a photo of Epstein and Trump together on Instagram along with a brutal caption. 'Hey donald –you're rattled again?" she wrote. '18 years later and I still live rent-free in that collapsing brain of yours.' 'I'm everything you fear: a loud woman a queer woman a mother who tells the truth an american who got out of the country b4 u set it ablaze,' she wrote. O'Donnell, a longtime nemesis of Trump's, told him that he is 'everything that is wrong with america,' addingm 'You want to revoke my citizenship? go ahead and try, king joffrey with a tangerine spray tan.' The White House did not immediately return the Daily Beast's request for comment. Earlier on Saturday, Trump called O'Donnell a 'threat to humanity' on Truth Social and wrote, 'Because of the fact that Rosie O'Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.' The president does not have the power to unilaterally take away a person's citizenship, which is protected by the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment. Trump has faced MAGA outcry this week over his handling of the Epstein files. The FBI and Justice Department announced that the files contained no client list or any evidence that Epstein was murdered, shutting down two popular conspiracy theories. Skepticism has long swirled around Trump's relationship with the disgraced financier, who died in a prison cell in August 2019. The two were pictured together, but Trump denies flying on his jet or visiting his private island. In 2024, the Daily Beast exclusively published tapes recorded in August 2017 in which Epstein said he was Trump's 'closest friend.' Trump's feud with O'Donnell dates back to 2006, when she was a host on The View and questioned his 'moral authority' given his divorces and affairs. At a Republican debate in 2015, Trump was asked about his history of comments characterizing women as 'fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.' 'Only Rosie O'Donnell,' he responded. O'Donnell explained on CNN in April of this year that Trump's election victory convinced her 'it was time for me and my non-binary child to leave the country.' 'It's as bad as they promised and even a little bit worse,' she said of Trump's presidency. 'And it's been heartbreaking and personally very, very sad to watch.'
The Independent
05-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Federal judge hints at early release of MLK Jr assassination files following Trump's order
The government's secret files on the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. could be released ahead of schedule after a federal judge in Washington indicated he was open to doing so. In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, demanding the release of all government documents pertaining to the shootings of MLK, as well as both President John F Kennedy and his brother, Robert F Kennedy, in the 1960s. 'Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth,' Trump said in the order. 'It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay.' Dr King was shot dead on the second floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4 1968, with the official narrative remaining that the gunman was the petty criminal James Earl Ray, who hit him with a Remington rifle fired from the window of a rented room in a boarding house standing across the street. In 1977, a judge ordered the government to unseal all of the files it holds on the case and make them public in 2027. However, at Wednesday's hearing in Washington, Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia suggested he was prepared to bring the release date forward to comply with Trump's wishes, although he also emphasized the importance of sensitivity. Judge Leon said the first step would be for the National Archives and Records Administration to show him the complete inventory of files it has in its possession on the MLK assassination and the FBI investigation that followed, so as to establish the size of the processing task ahead. The hearing was prompted by a lawsuit filed by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights organization based in King's native Atlanta, Georgia, which seeks to halt the expedited release. Before the judge's ruling, Sumayya Saleh, a lawyer representing the conference, had argued that the push to publish the documents amounted to a 'deliberate effort to undermine the civil rights movement' and to 'discredit' MLK's legacy. Justice Department lawyer Johnny Walker proposed that officials from his agency be allowed to comb through the papers first and produce a subset that the justice and the conference could peruse before approving or challenging their release. Judge Leon ultimately determined that he should have the first look, describing the situation as 'the first few steps in a journey' that could take years and reminding both sides: 'This is delicate stuff.' 'Keep the lines of communication open,' he ordered the Justice Department and Southern Christian Leadership Conference, saying he would 'bless' any agreement between them to examine the files jointly. 'That's in everyone's interest, including the president's.' The King family has long contested that version of events, and the killing has been the subject of conspiracy theories ever since, with some suggesting a police sharpshooter really fired the fatal shot and others that Ray had accepted a $50,000 bounty put forward by segregationist groups to make the hit. 'The Mafia, local, state and federal government agencies, were deeply involved in the assassination of my husband… Mr Ray was set up to take the blame,' the deceased's widow, Coretta Scott King, said in 1999.
