Latest news with #governmentfiles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
The DOJ Told Trump He's in the Epstein Files: Report
The Justice Department told Donald Trump that his name appears in the government's files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The president's name appears in the files multiple times, according to senior administration officials who spoke to the Journal. Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump that his name appeared in the files during a meeting at the White House in May. She told him that several other notable figures appeared in the files, and that the files contained what they believed to be, as the Journal puts it, 'unverified hearsay' about people who had socialized with Epstein in the past, including the president. Trump was also told that the Justice Department would not release any additional information on Epstein because the files contain child pornography and the personal information of Epstein's victims. Trump said he would let the Justice Department handle the matter as they saw fit, the officials told the Journal. The Journal adds that FBI Director Kash Patel has privately told other government officials that Trump's name appears in the files. The Journal's report comes as the Trump administration struggles to tamp down MAGA outrage over their handling of the case. Earlier this month, the DOJ and FBI released a joint memo announcing they would be closing the administration's review of Epstein, affirming that the financier killed himself in jail, and declining to release additional material related to the case. The announcement triggered a revolt among the Republican base, which for months — if not years — had been teased with promises of transparency and additional prosecutions of individuals connected to Epstein once Trump returned to power. Trump has responded to the backlash by repeatedly calling the Epstein files a 'hoax,' claiming nonsensically that they were 'made up' by Barack Obama and other Democratic figures. He bashed his supporters who still care about the 'bullshit' case. The president this week launched an effort to redirect attention to conspiracy theories about the 2016 election, telling reporters on Tuesday that 'whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people,' citing Obama, whom he claimed is guilty of 'treason.' Trump has a long history with Epstein, and the two were friends for many years. Trump has bashed Epstein in recent years, but spoke glowingly of him while they were still on good terms. 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,' Trump famously said 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. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.' The Journal reported last week that he wrote the future convicted sex offender a salacious birthday note in the early 2000s, noting that the two have 'certain things in common.' Trump denied the report and sued the outlet days later. He's not likely to take kindly to the Journal now reporting that his name is in the Epstein files. Amid his ongoing feud with Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, a former Trump White House adviser, posted on X last month that Trump 'is in the Epstein files,' adding: 'That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' ABC News asked Trump last week if Bondi had told him that his name appears in the Epstein files. 'No, no,' he said, adding that Bondi had handled the Epstein situation 'very well.' More from Rolling Stone Israel Seizes Aid Flotilla Bringing Baby Formula, Medicine to Gaza Oklahoma's Trump-Loving, Bible-Thumping Superintendent Faces Porn Probe The Democratic Party's Brand Is Cooked Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
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,' the speaker said. 'Has anyone forgotten they had all these files the entire time?' But Rep. Jim McGovern, the ranking Democrat on the Rules Committee, criticized Johnson's maneuvering. 'I mean, it tells me that he's scared s***less,' McGovern told The Independent. 'I've never seen anything quite like this. I mean, where, I mean, literally, the Speaker of the House just canceled everything and said, you know, as the song goes, 'See you in September.'' 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 whom he broke with before the feds began investigating Epstein 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 allows them to circumvent the committee process to bring a vote on releasing files related to Epstein to the floor. 'They know that the public wants that, and they don't want their members voting,' Khanna told The Independent. 'I mean, I've ever seen anything like it.' 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.
Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Why is Ellen DeGeneres selling her £22.5m UK home? Take our quiz
A well-known musician gave ex-prime minister Tony Blair a guitar worth £2,500 in 2002, according to newly released government files. Do you know who it was? Elsewhere, the Lionesses are making final preparations for Sunday's Euro 2025 final against Spain. Whose extra-time penalty against Italy got them there? From Prince George to the Prince of Darkness, see how well you've followed the news this week, and post your score in the comments below.
Fox News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
7 details revealed in newly released MLK files
President Donald Trump's administration released the government's files on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, shedding new light on the demise of one of America's most famous citizens. The release includes 6,301 documents and one audio file of an interview with the brother of assassin James Earl Ray. In total, the release boasts 243,496 pages. Here are seven of the most important details inside. One Texas man, Joseph Meyer, told investigators that he may have seen MLK's killer in Mississippi two weeks prior to the killing. A report on his comments to police said he encountered a man firing a rifle into a tree while on a fishing trip with his son. "He and his son went fishing near Picayune on a Sunday morning between about 8:00 AM and 9:30 AM. They were approaching a small fishing lake on Ridge Road when they noticed a man laying behind a light colored Ford Mustang shooting a rifle into a target on a tree about 40 yards away," the report reads. "He and his son parked their car at the small lake nearby and began fishing. The man with the rifle, which he observed to be a lever action and either new or very well taken care of, came up to them and started talking to him. The man said he was bore sighting the rifle, but he wished his brother was there because he was more experienced at this. They talked of fishing, hunting and general topics. The man did not talk with an accent and gave the impression of not being from that area. "The man was dressed in canvas field hunting clothes. He was about 5'10" to 11" tall, 175 pounds, dark wavy hair well groomed. Meyer has observed photographs of James Earl Ray and he stated that some of the photographs definitely do not look like the man he saw, but one of the photographs he recently saw in Look Magazine, the one without glasses, in some ways resembles the man he saw firing the rifle. He said he does not believe he would be able to identify the man he saw even if he saw him again," the report continued. "Meyer thought nothing of the incident until he heard of the shooting of Martin Luther King. Then he thought there might possibly be some connection, but he did not report the matter to the local police because he was afraid they would only laugh at him. He said he went back to the area [where] the man was firing and was unable to find any cartridges. He looked at the tree that had been shot at and noted that the places where the bullets hit indicated that a high-powered cartridge was used," the report said. READ THE FILE – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: The CIA compiled a five-page report on Cuba's response to MLK's assassination, including reports from Cuban independent and state-controlled media. The report shows that Granma, the official newspaper for Cuba's communist party, highlighted the violence and riots that took place in the wake of MLK's death. "Twenty-seven persons have been killed in the U.S. as a result of the fighting which has been going on since the assassination of Martin Luther King. In Washington alone there are 750 wounded and 4,186 persons arrested. Snipers continue to be active in different cities in the U.S. The White House and the Capitol are under heavy guard," the paper wrote, according to the CIA report. The report also highlighted Cuban radio outlets and others amplifying calls for violence from certain "black power" activists. One such message came from Stokely Carmichael, who urged Black Americans to "arm ourselves with rifles and pistols and launch an assault on the streets of the cities of the United States." Radio Liberacion also highlighted Carmichael's prediction that there would be "executions in the streets." READ THE FILE – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: An FBI report included in the release says that a man threatened to murder MLK during a May 1967 appearance in Wisconsin. The FBI said they received a call from an anonymous male vowing to "put a bullet through KING's head." Investigators determined that man to be Theodore Adank, with local police saying he was a possible mental case who could have capabilities of committing violence. "At the news conference held by King on 5/12/67 the area was sealed off by police to ensure that only newsmen were admitted," the FBI reported. "Theodore Adank showed up on that occasion posing as a newsman, but was evicted by local police." Investigators returned to interview Adank in the days after MLK's death, but they uncovered no connection to the assassination. "Adank was interviewed by [special agents] Kenna and Walker on 4/8/68 and impressed interviewing agents as being somewhat of a mental case," the report read. "Adank advised he has been in Wausau during the entire recent 2-week period except for one occasion when he traveled to Milwaukee, Wis. for treatment at a Wood, Wis. VA Center in connection with his medical disability pension." READ THE FILE – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: The FBI became aware of several aliases Ray used in the lead-up to MLK's murder. Documents show he used two different names while purchasing the murder weapon from a gun store in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 29 and 30, just days before the assassination. Ray identified himself to the store clerks as "Harvey Lowmeyer," though he used an address and drove a vehicle linked to another alias, "Eric Galt." FBI agents connected the two aliases when store clerks were shown a picture of "Galt" and said he was identical to "Lowmeyer." "Galt first visited Aeromarine Supply Company on two occasions: Friday, 3/29/68, when be purchased a .243 caliber Remington rifle, Model 700, which was equipped with Redfield scope. On following day, Saturday, 3/30/68, same individual returned after telephonic contact and exchanged this rifle for the murder weapon, a Remington Model 760, 30.06 caliber, to which scope was attached," the FBI report reads. READ THE FILE – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: Ray's younger brother, Jerry Ray, conducted an interview with law enforcement following MLK's murder, and he suggested to them that his brother may have been paid by a third party to be "used" in the attack. He told law enforcement that he hadn't seen James in four years, when he visited his elder brother in prison. "I don't think he was involved. I think he was used as a--he was used some way in it, though. I think that because, you know, of the money he spent and all that. I think his name was used, and because he couldn't turn himself in because he had so much time to do in Missouri. I think he was implicated in some way, more likely used," Jerry said. "Are you saying that someone paid him to pretend to be King's murderer?" the interviewer asked. "Well they have two Eric Starvo Galts within about two miles of each other, and every time he went some place there would be another guy like him, and it seems kind of strange," Jerry responded. Jerry went on to say he believes his brother thought it was "honorable" not to reveal whether anyone else was involved in King's murder. He then said he planned to go to Memphis and talk to his brother once Ray arrived in the city in police custody. "If he definitely didn't do it, he'll tell me that, but he won't tell me the other things, how come he was used or what," Jerry predicted of talking with Ray. "But he'll tell me if he did or if he didn't do it, but he won't implicate anybody else." "So, Jerry, your whole theory is that Ray was paid to implicate himself?" the interviewer pressed. "That's what my theory is," he responded. "I figure he was paid for his name being used. That's as far as I think he's involved in it." Missives from the Chinese Communist Party collected by U.S. intelligence called for Americans to begin an uprising against "yankee imperialists." The booklet, found with both Spanish and English translations, was titled "Statement by Comrade Mao Tse-Tung, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in Support of the Afro-American Struggle Against Violent Repression." Published roughly a week after MLK's death, the book "cites the Negro struggle in the United States as part of the world struggle against the 'yankee imperialists,' and asserts that the world revolution has entered a new era, and urges all people to unite and eliminate this enemy," the FBI report reads. READ THE FILE – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: Included in the trove of documents released this week is a CIA paper titled "Talking Points for Interview with Dan Rather," with the date of Oct. 29, 1975. "The CIA was in no way involved in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King," the proposed talking points begin. "In addition, I would like again to deny categorically that there was any CIA like involvement in the assassinations of President Kennedy or Senator Robert Kennedy, or the attempted assassination of Governor Wallace." The talking points document does not identify the CIA official for whom it was intended. Rather and CBS published an interview with then-CIA Director William Colby on Nov. 26, 1975. The interview focused on supposed CIA ties to Lee Harvey Oswald, but did not address MLK's assassination in the broadcasted portion. Rather did publish a segment on MLK's death in late November 1975, but the segment did not include any interview with a CIA official. READ THE FILE – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:
The Independent
22-07-2025
- 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.
