Donald Trump has dismissed the idea that any solid, incriminating evidence exists about his involvement with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after a firestorm erupted over his administration’s failure to release files relating to the case, as promised before the 2024 election.
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.
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Key points
- AG Pam Bondi files motion to release Epstein grand jury transcripts
- Trump files lawsuit against Murdoch, WSJ and NewsCorp over Epstein birthday card expose
- FBI told to 'flag' mentions of Trump in Epstein files, Democrat claims in letter to Bondi
- White House knew about the Trump letter story for days - and were on a ‘f***ing warpath’ to stop it
ANALYSIS: The Wall Street Journal’s Trump story has united MAGA on the Epstein saga over their universal hatred of one thing
08:00
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Oliver O'Connell
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...
Trump’s $9bn clawback against PBS and NPR may have bought him a post-summer government shutdown
07:00
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Oliver O'Connell
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.
How the Epstein files saga has unfolded during Trump's presidency
06:00
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Oliver O'Connell
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.
Flashback: Fox News asks Trump if he'll declassify the Epstein Files in 2024
05:00
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Rachel Dobkin
The Epstein List: Full list of names from unsealed court records
04:30
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Oliver O'Connell
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:
Trump wants the Epstein grand jury transcripts released. That’s a tiny portion of the files his administration has on the case
04:00
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Rachel Dobkin
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.
Read more from Kelly Rissman:
Trump tired of defending Pam Bondi's handling of Epstein files: report
03:14
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Rachel Dobkin
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.”
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
This week in headlines: The Epstein files
02:00
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Rachel Dobkin
Here are some top headlines this week on the controversy surrounding the government’s files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Release of grand jury transcripts still needs judge's approval — and there are strict rules
01:00
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Oliver O'Connell
The notice on the federal court docket in Florida concerning President Donald Trump’s law suit against Rupert Murdoch and his companies and publication, appeared moments before Attorney General Pam Bondi and deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche filed a motion in federal court in Manhattan asking a judge to unseal grand jury testimony in Epstein’s case in an apparent attempt to quell concerns from the president’s allies that the Department of Justice was participating in a cover-up.
The release of that testimony — which amounts to only a fraction of the evidence in the so-called “Epstein files” — would still need approval from a judge, who must navigate strict rules surrounding grand jury secrecy and protections for witnesses and victims.
That could take some time.
The administration has declined to release a separate and likely much larger tranche of evidence that was mentioned in an index in what the administration labelled “phase one” of the release of evidence earlier this year, when far-right influencers were invited to the White House to receive binders of mostly previously released documents in the case.
Trump announces his 'powerhouse' lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal after bombshell Jeffrey Epstein report
Saturday 19 July 2025 00:07
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Rachel Dobkin
Donald Trump announced Friday evening his team filed a “powerhouse” lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal after it published a bombshell report claiming the president gave the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a bawdy birthday card in 2003.
“We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS ‘article’ in the useless ‘rag’ that is, The Wall Street Journal,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The lawsuit, which includes defendants such as media mogul Rupert Murdoch, seeks $10 billion.
ANALYSIS: Why isn’t Fox News covering the Wall Street Journal’s bombshell scoop of the Trump-Epstein letter?
Friday 18 July 2025 23:35
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Oliver O'Connell
Justin Baragona writes:
The political media world was thrown into chaos Thursday night when the Wall Street Journal published a bombshell story about a birthday letter Donald Trump apparently wrote to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, prompting the president to sue the publication and Rupert Murdoch, the paper’s owner and founder of Fox News.
On Friday, the president filed a libel lawsuit against the right-wing media mogul and The Wall Street Journal’s parent companies, News Corp and Dow Jones, following the newspaper’s publication of Trump’s alleged birthday letter to Epstein.
However, regular consumers of Fox News may be oblivious to this blockbuster report – that sparked outcry from MAGA supporters and seemingly prompted the president to ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “pertinent” grand jury testimony in the Epstein case – because the conservative cable giant has avoided mention of it.
Continue reading...
Trump claims he never ‘wrote a picture'
Friday 18 July 2025 23:13
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Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump has strongly pushed back against the bombshell Wall Street Journal report that alleged he drew a “bawdy” sketch in a birthday message to celebrate convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday.
“I never wrote a picture in my life,” he said in a rebuttal to the newspaper, vehemently denying having anything to do with the card.
In a Truth Social tirade late Thursday, the president declared, “I don’t draw pictures.”
Unfortunately for Trump, as James Liddell reports, that’s not quite true...
Democrats demand answers from Fox News on edits to Trump’s Epstein comments
Friday 18 July 2025 23:10
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Oliver O'Connell
The ranking Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the top executives at Fox News demanding answers about the right-wing network’s editing of a 2024 interview with Donald Trump, claiming it misled the public about the then-candidate’s stance on releasing documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Justin Baragona reports.
ANALYSIS: Laura Loomer’s witch hunt just made Trump’s Epstein problems even worse
Friday 18 July 2025 22:50
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Oliver O'Connell
John Bowden writes:
Laura Loomer re-entered the Trump White House’s periphery this week at precisely the worst possible moment for a president trying to stop a firestorm from spreading.
As Donald Trump continues battling the blaze of controversy surrounding his administration’s reversal on the issue of releasing a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators, the so-called “Epstein Client List,” Loomer’s own contribution to the mess may end up letting what little air is left out of the president’s tires.
Read on...
Watch: DOJ insists release of Epstein grand jury transcripts in public interest
Friday 18 July 2025 22:38
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Oliver O'Connell
...but the bulk of the evidence for the case against Jeffrey Epstein remains with the Department of Justice and the FBI, and they are not releasing that. This is unlikely to placate those demanding full transparency.
Here’s CNN’s Paul Reid to explain:
CNN: And they're saying that they will continue to not release the information that they have and have the power to release but they’re saying transparency to the American public is at the utmost importance to this administration pic.twitter.com/IOfXNHcsq1
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 18, 2025
BREAKING: AG Pam Bondi files motion to release Epstein grand jury transcripts
Friday 18 July 2025 22:29
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Oliver O'Connell
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche have filed a motion in New York “to release grand jury transcripts associated with” the Jeffrey Epstein case.
The filing in part reads:
Public officials, lawmakers, pundits, and ordinary citizens remain deeply interested and concerned about the Epstein matter. Indeed, other jurists have released grand jury transcripts after concluding that Epstein’s case qualifies as a matter of public concern. … For these reasons, this Court should conclude that the Epstein and Maxwell cases qualify as a matter of public interest, release the associated grand jury transcripts, and lift any preexisting protective orders.
FLASH: Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Atty General Todd Blanche have filed motion in New York "to release grand jury transcripts associated with" Jeffrey Epstein casehttps://t.co/b2m0AacTNy pic.twitter.com/tASYcUjKbG
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 18, 2025
Full story: Trump files lawsuit against Murdoch, WSJ and NewsCorp over Epstein birthday card expose
Friday 18 July 2025 22:19
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Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has filed a libel lawsuit against right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal’s parent companies, News Corp and Dow Jones, following the newspaper’s publication of the president’s alleged birthday letter to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Alex Woodward reports.
COMMENT: How Jeffrey Epstein could finish Trump from beyond the grave
Friday 18 July 2025 22:08
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Oliver O'Connell
Jon Sopel writes:
Who owns Maga? I mean, not literally, of course. Maga is an idea rather than a thing. It is not a shop or a book. There are no bricks and mortar – although if I could have had 10 per cent from every red Make America Great Again cap sold, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this article.
The reason I pose the question is that when there was a rumbling disquiet over sending bombers to target Iran’s nuclear facilities, the president swatted his Trumpland critics who said this wasn’t true to the core principles of Maga and America First.
He more or less said, “I invented Maga, so Maga is what I say it is.” It worked. His detractors huffed and puffed a bit, but then they went quiet. The Maga coalition fell into line behind their hero.
But over Jeffrey Epstein – the disgraced millionaire and paedophile who died in custody awaiting trial – it’s all rather different.
Read on...
BREAKING: Trump files suit over Wall Street Journal's Epstein story
Friday 18 July 2025 22:02
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Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, and two Wall Street Journal reporters, following a report Thursday on his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He is raising claims under federal libel law, according to court records.
A copy of the complaint was not immediately available.
Stand by for more details...
RECAP: Trump asks Pam Bondi to release certain files on Epstein
Friday 18 July 2025 22:00
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Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump says he’s asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to release certain Jeffrey Epstein files and relevant grand jury testimony: “subject to court approval.”
The president’s directive follows weeks of uproar surrounding the handling of the so-called Epstein files and after Trump announced his plans to sue the Wall Street Journal after the paper published a bombshell report detailing a bawdy birthday card Trump allegedly gave to Jeffrey Epstein.
Kelly Rissman filed this report last night.
White House knew about the Trump letter story for days - and were on a ‘f***ing warpath’ to stop it
Friday 18 July 2025 21:48
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Oliver O'Connell
The White House engaged in an unsuccessful pressure campaign to try and stop the Wall Street Journal from releasing a bombshell story about President Donald Trump sending a birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein this past week, according to a report.
Amid intense public criticism around the Epstein Files, White House officials and staffers were on “a f****** warpath” to try to prevent the Journal from publishing the alleged lewd letter, which contained a drawing of the outline of a naked woman, Rolling Stone reported Thursday.
Ariana Baio has the story.
Watch: Joe Rogan breaks down why people are angry about the Trump administration and the Epstein list
Friday 18 July 2025 21:40
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Oliver O'Connell
Joe Rogan: "When Trump got into office, one of the things that everyone was promised was we're gonna find out the Epstein client list....You haven't heard a fucking peep about any of that shit...The same people that are pulling the strings are still pulling the strings." pic.twitter.com/qWT3oZN36i
— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) July 18, 2025
Ex-Trump Casino boss reveals president brought Epstein and teen girl to gaming floor
Friday 18 July 2025 21:30
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Oliver O'Connell
A former executive at Trump’s Atlantic City casino claimed that the president once brought Jeffrey Epstein and a 19-year-old girl to the gaming floor.
Jack O’Donnell, who was president of the Atlantic City Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino for four years from 1987, told CNN that president “frequently” visited the New Jersey resort with Epstein to attend “special events.”
Rhian Lubin has the details.
Epstein billboard lights up Times Sqaure
Friday 18 July 2025 21:14
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Oliver O'Connell
NEW Times Square billboard. Why won’t Trump release the Epstein files? Americans want answers. pic.twitter.com/OOYKSt2Hg9
— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) July 18, 2025
Elon Musk leaps to Trump’s defense following WSJ ‘hit piece’
Friday 18 July 2025 21:10
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Oliver O'Connell
Elon Musk rushed to Donald Trump’s defense after a damning Wall Street Journal report detailed a lewd birthday letter the president allegedly presented to Jeffrey Epstein.
The tech billionaire has repeatedly demanded the release of the unredacted documents related to the disgraced financier’s sex-trafficking case since dropping the “really big bomb” last month, a baseless claim that Trump was withholding the files because they implicated him.
James Liddell reports.
Tulsi Gabbard calls for prosecutions of everyone involved in 'Russiagate'
Friday 18 July 2025 21:07
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Oliver O'Connell
If you’re waiting for Attorney General Pam Bondi to ask the courts to unseal the files on Jeffrey Epstein, you will have to keep waiting.
However, in the meantime, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has decided to try to snatch the spotlight by turning over documents relating to the “Russiagate” investigation to the Department of Justice.
Gabbard calls for the investigation and prosecution of “every person involved” in the 2016 election Russian interference conspiracy.
A statement from her office accuses former President Barack Obama and his national security cabinet members of manufacturing and politicizing intelligence “to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump.”
She wrote on X: “Their goal was to usurp President Trump and subvert the will of the American people.
“No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The integrity of our democratic republic depends on it.
“We are turning over all documents to the DOJ for criminal referral.”
Their goal was to usurp President Trump and subvert the will of the American people.
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) July 18, 2025
No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The integrity of our democratic republic depends on it.
We… pic.twitter.com/KJ7qrmMv0k
Amid Epstein files furore, Trump told implausible story about the Unabomber
Friday 18 July 2025 20:50
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Oliver O'Connell
The White House stonewalled Thursday when pressed for an explanation as to why President Donald Trump told a group of business leaders an implausible tale about his late uncle, a noted MIT professor,