US Politics

Justice department on Friday released 3m pages and lawmakers accuse it of not releasing roughly 50% of recordsSurvivors, lawmakers and watchdog groups accused Donald Trump’s justice department of withholding records it is legally required to release following the disclosure of millions of files from the investigation into the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The justice department on Friday released 3m pages of documents from its investigation into the millionaire financier’s sexual abuse of young girls and his interactions with wealthy and powerful figures, including Trump and former president Bill Clinton. The release was an effort to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and, according to US deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, includes more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, all subject to “extensive redactions”. Continue reading… More

Less than two weeks before convicted abuser was found dead, lawyers met with Manhattan federal prosecutorsLess than two weeks before Jeffrey Epstein’s death in jail, his lawyers and Manhattan federal prosecutors met and discussed his potential cooperation, several documents within a cache of newly released investigative files state.“On July 29, 2019, FBI and [prosecutors] met with Epstein’s attorneys, who, in very general terms, discussed the possibility of a resolution of the case, and the possibility of the defendant’s cooperation,” an FBI document titled “Epstein Investigation Summary & Timeline” stated. Continue reading… More

Bovino, recently demoted, used the term ‘chosen people’ in sarcastic way as attorney Daniel Rosen observed ShabbatRecently demoted border patrol official Gregory Bovino reportedly made mocking and sarcastic remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota’s US attorney, Daniel Rosen, during a phone call with prosecutors in the state earlier in January.According to the New York Times, Bovino mocked Rosen for observing Shabbat, a weekly day of rest that begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday – and used the term “chosen people” in a sarcastic way during a phone call with the lawyers on 12 January. Continue reading… More

Federal prosecutors had identified 6 million files that were ‘potentially responsive’ to the law, but only released 3.5. Why?The justice department released a trove of 3.5m files related to the dead financier and pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, with deputy attorney general Todd Blanche declaring that the release would likely be the last major declassification of files relating to Epstein. Federal prosecutors had identified 6 million files that were “potentially responsive” to the law, meaning that there are millions of files that have still not been released.The release marked a belated and partial compliance with a bill passed by Congress late last year, which had mandated that all government documents pertaining to Epstein and the various law enforcement investigations into his sexual abuse of girls be made public by 19 December 2025. Continue reading… More

The Save Act – which would do the opposite of its title – could have a huge impact on the midterm elections If you are anything like me, then you are currently pickling in your own cortisol. As the US grows increasingly violent, increasingly cruel, every day brings a legion of new horrors. So I’m very sorry to say that I’m here to ruin your weekend by giving you yet another thing to worry about. That thing is called the Save Act and, if the Trump administration gets its way, it could have an oversized impact on the November midterms, particularly when it comes to minorities and married women being able to vote.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading… More

Effort to manipulate killing of Alex Pretti collapsed after footage torpedoed ‘domestic terrorist’ claim – could this be a turning point?“Our press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave alternative facts.” These were the words of the senior White House aide Kellyanne Conway on NBC television’s Meet the Press in January 2017. “Alternative facts” instantly set a template for the era of Donald Trump.So when Alex Pretti, 37, an intensive care nurse, was shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis last Saturday, White House officials immediately moved to brand him a “would-be assassin” and “domestic terrorist” who had been brandishing a gun. This time, however, the tried and trusted playbook did not work. Continue reading… More