DOJ asks judge to unseal Epstein-related grand jury testimony; Trump files libel lawsuit against Wall Street Journal
This version of Rcrd85163 - Politics and Government | NBC News Clone was adapted by NBC News Clone to help readers digest key facts more efficiently.
The president signed into law legislation establishing a framework for cryptocurrency regulation.
What to know today
- EPSTEIN CASE: The Justice Department filed a motion to release grand jury testimony in the criminal cases of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
- LIBEL LAWSUIT: President Donald Trump sued The Wall Street Journal's publisher, as well as Rupert Murdoch and two reporters, over an article published yesterday about Trump and Epstein.
- CRYPTOCURRENCY REGULATION: Trump signed legislation this afternoon to establish a framework for cryptocurrency regulation. The House passed the landmark bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, last night.
‘Let me see the videotapes’: Mark Epstein wants Steve Bannon’s 15 hours of unseen footage of his brother
In 2021, the New York Post ran an online trailer of an upcoming documentary about Jeffrey Epstein that was produced by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. In the video, Bannon is on camera questioning Epstein about “all of the depravity you’ve done against young women,” among other things.
But that documentary never came out. Now, Jeffrey Epstein’s brother, Mark, is asking for Bannon to show him the unseen footage.
“Let me see the videotapes,” he told NBC News today. “He’s my brother.”
FBI personnel were told to flag Epstein files mentioning Trump, Senate Democrat says
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pressed Justice Department leadership about their handling of files related to the federal investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein, including reports that FBI personnel were instructed to “flag” any records that mentioned Trump.
In a series of oversight letters written to Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Durbin questioned Bondi about “contradictions” in her public statements on the case, Patel about reports that he was “pressured” by Bondi to place 1,000 personnel on 24-hour shifts to mine roughly 100,000 Epstein-related records and Bongino about reported disputes among Trump officials about “the lack of transparency” in their handling of the high-profile case.
In the letters sent today, Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked each of the Trump administration officials to respond to information received by his office that suggested FBI personnel were specifically instructed to “flag” any records mentioning Trump.
“My office was told that these personnel were instructed to ‘flag’ any records in which President Trump was mentioned. ... Why were personnel told to flag records in which President Trump was mentioned,” Durbin asked Bondi, Patel and Bongino in separate letters. “What happened to the records mentioning President Trump once they were flagged?”
Trump frustrated at having to take the heat for Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files
Trump has grown weary of defending Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Justice Department’s Jeffery Epstein files and wants her to take responsibility for cleaning up the mess, according to four people familiar with White House deliberations.
“One thing that’s been clear is his feelings about it,” one White House official told NBC News. “This now resides within the DOJ.”
Another senior White House official said they believed that the situation had “stabilized” when asked about the White House’s view of Bondi’s performance.
The administration’s refusal to disclose the full contents of the government’s investigation into Epstein, who killed himself in jail while awaiting trial on charges of sex-trafficking minors in 2019, has caused a deep rift between Trump and significant elements of his MAGA base.
Republicans keep voting for bills they say they don’t like
Two weeks after he cast a decisive vote to pass a sweeping domestic policy bill that cuts Medicaid by about $1 trillion, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a bill to repeal some of those cuts.
“Now is the time to prevent any future cuts to Medicaid from going into effect,” Hawley said in a statement.
The move represents a trend in Congress during Trump’s second term. Republican lawmakers across the ideological spectrum keep casting votes in favor of bills even while warning that they’re deeply flawed, and may require fixing down the road. In some cases, lawmakers explicitly threaten to vote “no” on bills before eventually folding and voting “yes.”
Trump takes victory lap with GOP senators at White House dinner
Trump praised Republican senators at the White House this evening for recently passed legislation like the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and a spending cuts package.
In lighthearted remarks, Trump joked that the crypto measure he signed into law today, called the GENIUS Act, had been named after him, while urging the Republican lawmakers to stay healthy so that they don’t lose any votes in the chamber.
“We said, 'We’re a heart attack away from losing the Senate.' We were just hoping everybody’s going to stay good and healthy,” Trump told the gathering of senators, their spouses and administration officials.
He also struck an optimistic tone when talking about the 2026 midterms, predicting that the GOP majority in Congress "is going to be stronger in both the House and the Senate."
Trump sues Wall Street Journal’s publisher and 2 reporters over Epstein article
Trump took legal action today less than 24 hours after The Wall Street Journal published an article saying he sent a letter to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 that included a drawing of a naked woman.
The lawsuit named the Journal’s parent company, News Corp; its publisher, Dow Jones; two reporters for the newspaper; and News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch as the defendants.
The suit, filed in the Southern District of Florida, comes after Trump denied The Wall Street Journal’s reporting that he had written a birthday message to Epstein more than two decades ago that featured a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman and a signature of his first name.
DOJ files motion to unseal grand jury testimony related to Epstein
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche filed a motion to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case in Manhattan federal court.
“At the direction of the Attorney General, the Department of Justice hereby moves the Court to release grand jury transcripts associated with the above-referenced indictment,” the document reads.
The motion details that the Justice Department would work alongside the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York to redact "all victim-identifying information" before its public release.
The move comes after Trump directed Bondi to release "pertinent" information related to the grand jury testimony in Epstein's case.
Men Trump administration had sent to El Salvador’s CECOT prison exchanged in prisoner swap
More than 200 Venezuelan immigrants whom the Trump administration had sent to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador have been flown to Venezuela.
The move, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said in a post on X, was part of a prisoner swap in which the Venezuelan government agreed to release “a considerable number of Venezuelan political prisoners ... as well as all the American citizens it was holding as hostages” in exchange for the Venezuelan nationals who had been detained in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT.
In a post of his own, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “Thanks to @POTUS’s leadership, ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela are on their way to freedom.
“I want to thank my team at the @StateDept & especially President @nayibbukele for helping secure an agreement for the release of all of our American detainees, plus the release of Venezuelan political prisoners.”
Trump signs GENIUS Act to regulate cryptocurrency
Trump today signed the GENIUS Act during a ceremonial event at the White House that was attended by dozens of Senate and House lawmakers.
The bill, which the House passed earlier this week, is the first piece of federal legislation regulating stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency. The bill passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support.
"The entire crypto community, for years, you were mocked and dismissed and counted out," Trump said at the signing ceremony.
"This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and your pioneering spirit," he added, noting his admiration for crypto stocks.
House passes spending package cutting foreign aid and funds for NPR and PBS
NBC News’ Julie Tsirkin reports on the House of Representatives passing a bill cutting $9 billion in spending that had already been approved, including cuts to foreign aid and funds for services like NPR and PBS.
How Epstein grand jury material might — or might not — be released
Trump has publicly said he wants grand jury material related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation released, but that isn’t up to his Justice Department alone.
The treatment of grand jury materials is governed by Rule 6 of federal criminal procedure, which allows grand jury material to be disclosed to "any government personnel," including those of a state, Indian tribe or foreign government, necessary to help enforce federal criminal law.
Courts have interpreted that stringently to mean actual work done within the realm of a case or similar cases — not necessarily public disclosure by an attorney general just because he or she wants to. Exceptions include matters of foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, national security and foreign affairs — none of which apply here.
Still, grand jury testimony can only be released through an application to the district court that oversaw the grand jury investigation and prosecution, which in this case is the Southern District of New York. Given that legal experts say a government filing at the court or any future hearings might be under seal, the public might not be able to see what the DOJ requested, at least at first.
While many federal courts have held that grand jury materials can be disclosed only in the above exceptions, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees the Southern District of New York, has said the courts under its jurisdiction have the authority to release grand jury materials in special or exceptional circumstances.
Whether this situation would be considered a special or exceptional circumstance is unclear. While there is a high level of public interest in the case, the release of the transcripts could be detrimental not only to Epstein’s victims, but also to the ongoing Ghislaine Maxwell proceedings, currently on appeal before the Supreme Court.
And not all circuit courts share the 2nd Circuit's take. In a case called Pitch v. United States, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that district courts don't have the power to allow the disclosure of grand jury materials outside the five exceptions. The Supreme Court did not take that case up, however, leaving open the possibility it could weigh in on the Epstein case if it were presented to them.
Information in a grand jury transcript also would be limited to testimony from potential witnesses, victims and members of state, local or federal law enforcement agencies that helped investigate the case. The focus of the interviews would likely be on Epstein and Maxwell and law enforcement efforts to prove "probable cause," not on uncharged individuals.
Grand jury transcripts also do not include so-called FBI 302 forms, in which agents describe the details of their interviews; photo or video evidence; flight logs; or unredacted names of individuals not directly involved in the grand jury testimony.
Army command warns of threat to those who served in Iraq and Syria
Yesterday, U.S. Army Special Operations Command released a notification about “a potential terrorist threat targeting retired senior officials” who previous served in the Defense Department with roles in both Iraq and Syria. The threat is specifically for people in Florida.
“This was a credible threat and we notified those involved,” a U.S. military official said. “Security and safety of SOF personnel is important to us. I cannot share more for security reasons,” the official said.
The notification, known as a duty to warn, does not identify what the threat is or what group is behind it, and it does not refer to those currently on active duty. There have been reports in the past of threats from Iran to Trump and others in his administration, including those specifically involved in the 2020 assassination of Iranian leader Qassem Soleimani.
The threat is specific to a small group of individuals, but the warning went out to a wide swath of people, the U.S. military official said.
GOP group launches 'One Big Beautiful Bill' attack in Georgia Senate race
A Republican outside group has launched a new ad in the Georgia Senate race, knocking Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff for voting against Trump's so-called One Big Beautiful Bill.
"Every time you turn around, something is draining our pockets. Lately, it’s been Sen. Jon Ossoff," a Georgian says in an ad from One Nation. "Sen. Ossoff voted against lowering the cost of your house, your car, and voted against expanding the child tax credit."
One Georgian who speaks in the ad also refers to the sweeping tax and spending law as the “Working Family Tax Cuts,” reflecting a broader Republican effort to rebrand measure.
One Nation is the nonprofit arm of Senate Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. The group is making an additional $5 million investment in the race, which will be pivotal in next year's battle for Senate control.
E.U. trade negotiator concludes 2 days of 'intensive negotiations' with top Trump officials
The European Commission said its trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, returned to Brussels today to brief member states at a meeting of European Union ambassadors on what they called two days of “intensive negotiations."
Šefčovič met with Trump Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, a spokesman said at an E.U. briefing.
“This was yet another occasion to seek a negotiated solution, demonstrating our constructive, good faith engagement with the U.S. administration," the spokesman said. "As we have said in the past, including from this podium, our transatlantic partnership deserves a negotiated solution that is meaningful for both sides.”
The commission said it continues to pursue an outcome that works for “businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”
“The last mile is always the most challenging, and in our view, only concerted genuine efforts on both sides can get us to cross the finish line,” the spokesman added.
Democrats in a key state want to see their leaders ‘fight’ — and reach across party lines
Democratic strategists, elected officials and voters in South Carolina are already eagerly looking forward, hunting for the next leader of their party after their 2024 presidential loss.
They haven’t had to look far: Prominent Democratic officials have flooded into the state, which was the first to vote in Democrats’ 2024 presidential primaries, in recent weeks. Democratic Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Gavin Newsom of California and Andy Beshear of Kentucky have all crisscrossed South Carolina so far this year, while Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is also planning an event just outside of Charleston this weekend.
As potential candidates test themselves out in South Carolina, state Democrats are considering whom they want to see leading them into a post-Trump era. In conversations with more than a dozen Democrats across the state, two themes emerged: They want someone ready to “fight,” but they also want someone who can appeal across party lines.
Trump is diagnosed with vein disease after swelling in his legs
After pictures of Trump appearing to show swelling in his ankles and bruises on his hands covered with makeup started to draw attention, the White House revealed he has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency. NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reports and Dr. John Torres joins with analysis.
U.S. program to combat HIV/AIDS survives Trump’s latest round of cuts
PEPFAR, the popular global HIV/AIDS program credited with saving millions of lives, has been spared from a package of billions of dollars in spending cuts that Congress sent to Trump to sign into law.
The original rescissions package Trump requested called for $400 million in cuts to PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which George W. Bush started in 2003.
Public broadcasters say GOP funding cuts could be ‘devastating’ to local media and make Americans less safe
When a magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck off southern Alaska on Wednesday, officials were concerned about a potential tsunami. It was local public media that helped relay a tsunami alert, Sen. Lisa Murkowski said.
But now, looming GOP-led funding cuts are concerning media allies that local public broadcasters would be forced to downsize or shutter, damaging news operations and hurting locals’ ability to get timely emergency alerts like the one issued in Alaska.
House passes major cryptocurrency bill, sending it to Trump’s desk
In an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, the House approved a landmark cryptocurrency bill yesterday evening that would establish the first regulatory framework for issuers of stablecoins, called the GENIUS Act. The bill, which has already passed the Senate, now heads to Trump’s desk.
The vote was 308-122, with 206 Republicans and 102 Democrats supporting the legislation.
The House also approved two other crypto-related pieces of legislation, both of which still need to clear the Senate.
The CLARITY Act would establish “a regulatory framework for digital commodities.” That also got broad bipartisan support.
Meanwhile, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act would prohibit the “Federal Reserve bank from offering products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an account on behalf of an individual, or issuing a central bank digital currency.”
Republican Accountability Project taunts Trump over Epstein in six-figure ad campaign
The Republican Accountability Project is launching a six-figure campaign targeting Trump’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein with advertisements and billboards near the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, as well as Washington, D.C., and New York City.
A one-minute ad includes instances of Trump and Epstein praising each other while implying that Trump was connected to the Epstein scandal. It also highlights Attorney General Pam Bondi previously saying Epstein information would be released.
“So Donald, the reason everyone is still talking about Jeffrey Epstein is because Americans want answers,” the narrator concludes, as images of Trump and Epstein together play on the screen.
The ad, paid for by Defending Democracy Together, will run on Fox News near Bedminster, the Republican Accountability Project said. The group is also planning to unveil billboards and mobile billboards near the golf course, D.C. and in Times Square.
“Trump, why won’t you release the Epstein files?” the billboards read.
Sarah Longwell, the group’s executive director, said in a statement that “the more he rants, the more Americans want to know what his administration is hiding.”
“Either they were lying for years about the existence of the Epstein files to gin up their base, or they are lying now about their existence,” she said. “Either way, Americans deserve answers.”
Trump last night directed Bondi to seek the release of "pertinent" grand jury testimony from Epstein's case.
DNC chair heads to Texas to strategize against the GOP's redistricting ploy
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin will travel to Houston today to meet with Texas Democrats to discuss how to best fight back against Republican efforts to redraw the state’s congressional maps, a DNC source familiar with the planning told NBC News.
Martin is slated to meet with Texas state House Democratic Minority Leader Gene Wu, other members of the Texas Democratic legislative caucus and Democratic-aligned groups in the state to discuss strategies in battling those efforts, the source said. Martin was invited by Texas Democrats to strategize on how they can “gear up to fight back against Republicans’ blatant power grab,” the source said.
In a statement to NBC News, Martin said, “If Texas Republicans want a showdown, we will give them a showdown.”
Martin’s trip comes days ahead of a special legislative session — announced last week by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and due to kick off Monday — that will include on its agenda consideration of the redrawing the state’s congressional maps.
Adding Republican-leaning seats in Texas could help congressional Republicans hold on to their narrow U.S. House majority in next year’s midterm elections.
“Right now, Americans all across the country are thinking of the victims of the terrible floods in Texas. You know who isn’t? Governor Abbott. He’s taking orders from Donald Trump to rig the midterm elections. We’re not going to stand for it,” Martin added.
Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said in a text message that the governor “is dedicated to delivering results on issues important to Texans, such as flood relief, property tax cuts, and the elimination of the STAAR test.”
“The Governor looks forward to the legislature addressing these topics, along with other critical issues, during this special session,” Mahaleris added.
The New York Times reported last month that members of Trump’s political operation had privately urged Texas Republicans to redraw their maps ahead of the 2026 midterms — and Trump himself Wednesday very publicly lauded the efforts, urging lawmakers to take actions that would help them gain five House seats.
“A very simple redrawing, we pick up five seats,” Trump told reporters.
Republicans hold a slim 220-212 advantage in the House. In Texas, they already control 25 of the 38 congressional districts. But padding the GOP’s majority by even just a few seats in Texas could complicate Democrats’ ability to take control of the House in 2026.
The possibility has ignited a conversation among Democrats on how to best fight back. For example, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential contender, floated redrawing his own state’s maps to counter the Republican efforts in Texas. Doing so, though, would come with major obstacles: An independent commission controls the redistricting process in California, not the governor.
Martin, however, lauded Newsom’s threats in his statement, and said he’d back the Californian’s efforts.
“Democrats like Governor Gavin Newsom are ready to punch back at this cowardly attempt to use disaster relief to rig the maps for Republicans, and the DNC is right there with him,” Martin said.
Trump’s cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid clear Congress
The Republican-controlled House voted 216-213 last night to give final passage to a bill cutting $9 billion in spending that had already been approved, sending it to Trump to become law.
The cuts aimed at public media and foreign aid passed in another middle-of-the-night vote on Capitol Hill, one day after the Senate voted 51-48 after 2 a.m. yesterday to approve the measure. Two Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the package in the House: Reps. Mike Turner of Ohio and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
