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    Congressman Ro Khanna warns officials not to impede Epstein files release: ‘They will be prosecuted’

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    Democratic congressman Ro Khanna was a major force behind the legislative campaign that led Donald Trump to back down from his opposition and sign into law a bill compelling the release of files related to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.With the justice department now required to release the documents within 30 days, Khanna has a warning for those in the Trump administration who may find themselves pressed to withhold information: comply or face the consequences.“Now, it’s federal law for those documents to be released, and if the justice officials don’t release it, they will be prosecuted, and they … could be prosecuted in a future administration,” Khanna told the Guardian on Wednesday evening, shortly before Trump put his signature on a bill intended to reveal the truth about what he spent weeks calling a “Democrat hoax”.“The career officials [that] are making these decisions have to think that they’re going to be subject to future contempt of Congress or criminal prosecution, and they’re taking a huge risk … if they violate that, given that administrations change,” the California lawmaker added.As Democrats eye regaining control of the House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections, Khanna also expressed his support for issuing a subpoena to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former British royal who was stripped of his titles over his affiliation with Epstein.A top UK minister has since said Mountbatten-Windsor should answer questions about the relationship from US lawmakers, and Khanna and other Democrats asked Mountbatten-Windsor to sit for a deposition voluntarily, though the former prince has not responded.“We could subpoena him, because then, if he ever visited the United States, he’d be in contempt of Congress, and … face prosecution,” Khanna said. “Maybe he never wants to visit the United States, but if he does, he would have to comply with the subpoena.”It would be up to the House of Representatives’s Republican majority to issue a subpoena, and Khanna said he had suggested doing so to James Comer, the Republican chair of the oversight committee, which is also investigating the Epstein case. He has not heard back, and spokespeople for Comer did not respond to a request for comment.A financier and one-time friend of the president, Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, after pleading guilty in 2008 to a sexual abuse charge in Florida after a deal with prosecutors. During last year’s campaign, Trump and his allies insinuated that there was more to be revealed about Epstein and his interactions with global elites, but in July, the justice department and FBI announced that they would release no further information.That sparked an outcry among Trump’s supporters as well as many of his opponents, which continued even after the president dismissed the concern as a politically motivated attack. Khanna then collaborated with Republican congressman Thomas Massie on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the release of the government’s files about Epstein. To overcome the objections of the House speaker, Mike Johnson, Massie circulated a discharge petition among lawmakers to force a vote on the bill.The petition took weeks to receive the 218 signatures necessary to succeed, due in part due to the 43-day government shutdown and Johnson’s refusal to swear in a newly elected Democratic representative. Earlier this week, Trump dropped his opposition to the bill, and the House approved it overwhelmingly. The Senate later agreed to pass it unanimously.“We cracked the Maga base. It’s the first time anyone has ever cracked the Maga base,” Khanna said, adding that the “courage of the survivors” of Epstein, who twice traveled to the US Capitol to publicly press for the release of the files, was similarly pivotal.The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, has been accused of undoing the justice department’s independence from the White House, and recently opened an investigation into ties between Democrats and Epstein at Trump’s request.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionUnder the law, she is now tasked with releasing a wide range of files related to Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and others who interacted with them, though there are exemptions for materials related to open investigations or that could jeopardize national security.Khanna would not speculate on what may be revealed by the files, but signaled that Democrats would not let the issue drop, and would pursue officials who do not follow the law, though that will likely have to wait until they reclaim the majority in one chamber of Congress.“If we have the House, the people will be held in contempt and in front of Congress if they’re not complying. And if there’s a new administration, they’re very likely to enforce the law if people have violated it,” he said.The Epstein files have already generated uncomfortable headlines for powerful Democrats, including Larry Summers, a former treasury secretary under Bill Clinton who this week announced he would stop teaching at Harvard University after emails released by the House oversight committee reignited questions about his ties with Epstein.Khanna said he was not concerned by the possibility that the documents could cost others in his party their reputation.“I believe that we need a clearing, frankly, of the elite governing class … whether they were Democrats or Republicans,” he said.“We need a generational change, and if there are people who are caught up in protecting sex offenders or people caught up in participating in sex trafficking or abuse of underage girls, they should not be part of the future of politics.” More

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      Democrats condemn Trump after he says they should be punished ‘by death’ over video post

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      Democrats expressed outrage after Donald Trump accused a group of Democratic lawmakers of being “traitors” and said that they should be arrested and punished “by death” after they posted a video in which they told active service members they should refuse illegal orders.The video, released on Tuesday, features six Democratic lawmakers who have previously served in the military or in intelligence roles, including senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, and representatives Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio, Chrissy Houlahan and Jason Crow.“Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this constitution,” the lawmakers said in the 90-second video. “And right now, the threats to our constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. Our laws are clear, you can refuse illegal orders, you can refuse illegal orders, you must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution.”That seemed to prompt a furious response from the US president.On Thursday morning, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL.”In another post, he wrote: “This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP??? President DJT.” In a third post, he added: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” He also reposted a statement that said: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”Following Trump’s statements on Thursday, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic whip Katherine Clark and Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar released a joint statement condemning the remarks.“Political violence has no place in America,” they wrote. “Representatives Jason Crow, Chris DeLuzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan and Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin all served our country with tremendous patriotism and distinction. We unequivocally condemn Donald Trump’s disgusting and dangerous death threats against members of Congress, and call on House Republicans to forcefully do the same.”The Democratic leaders also said that they had been in contact with the House sergeant at arms and the United States Capitol police “to ensure the safety of these members and their families”.“Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed,” the statement added.The lawmakers who appeared in the video also released a statement.“We are veterans and national security professionals who love this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States,” they said. “That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation.”“What’s most telling is that the president considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law,” they continued. “Our service members should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty.”They added: “Every American must unite and condemn the president’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity.”Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, also condemned Trump’s remarks and posted on X: “Let’s be crystal clear: the President of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionHe added: “This is an outright THREAT. Every Senator, every Representative, every American – regardless of party – should condemn this immediately and without qualification.”Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, defended Trump’s claim that the Democrats had engaged in “sedition”, describing the video as “wildly inappropriate”, adding: “It is very dangerous, you have leading members of Congress telling troops to disobey orders, I think that’s unprecedented in American history.”Johnson also reportedly told the Independent that in what he read of Trump’s posts, Trump was “defining the crime of sedition”.“But obviously attorneys have to parse the language and determine all that. What I’m saying, what I will say unequivocally, that was a wildly inappropriate thing for so-called leaders in Congress to do to encourage young troops to disobey orders,” Johnson added.During a White House press conference on Thursday afternoon, when asked by a reporter, “Does the president want to execute members of Congress?”, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, responded: “No.”“Let’s be clear about what the president is responding to,” Leavitt said. “You have sitting members of the US Congress who conspired together to orchestrate a video message to members of the US military, to active duty service members encouraging them to defy the president’s lawful orders.She said: “The sanctity of our military rests on the chain of command, and if that chain of command is broken, it can lead to people getting killed, it can lead to chaos, and that’s what these members of Congress … are essentially encouraging.” More

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      In Tennessee, Democrats hope a ‘coalition of the pissed off’ will flip a red district

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      Republicans have controlled Tennessee’s seventh congressional district for four decades. The party finished about 21 points ahead of the Democrats when the seat was last contested, alongside Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election last November.Twelve months on, that lead has narrowed dramatically, according to opinion polls – and a challenger is attempting to build a “coalition of the pissed off” to overturn it altogether.With a special election scheduled for next month, Democrats have nominated Aftyn Behn, a progressive state representative in the district, as their candidate. As Trump’s approval rating continues to fall amid cost-of-living concerns, she is attempting to stage the biggest challenge in a generation to Republicans in the district, and flip the seat for the first time since 1983.“If you are dissatisfied, if you are not OK with what’s going on, then I’m your candidate,” Behn said. “If you think things are fine, I am not your candidate. If you are upset with the cost and chaos, I am your candidate.“We have been working to build a coalition of the disenchanted, a coalition of the pissed off, and I think it’s working to our favor.”After the resignation of the Republican representative Mark Green earlier this year, the party tapped Matt Van Epps, an army veteran supported by several billionaires and publicly backed by Trump. Two separate polls put Van Epps just eight points ahead of his Democratic rival.Van Epps did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the race, which amounts to a key test for the Democratic party and its ability to tap into voters’ indignation toward Trump amid persistent inflation and affordability concerns.Voters in Tennessee’s seventh congressional district seat, which comprises parts of Nashville, and middle and west Tennessee, will head to the polls on 2 December. Early voting has begun.Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee chair, has campaigned with Behn, and the DNC has been providing volunteers and phone bank support. Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance at an event for Behn this week, her first event as a campaign surrogate since leaving office. Trump, meanwhile, hosted a tele-rally with Van Epps last week, and the Republican National Committee has devoted similar resources and funding to his campaign.‘Epicenter of the crisis’“Tennessee is a state that has bought and sold to the highest bidder, and politicians are doing that bidding,” said Behn. “My campaign doesn’t accept corporate Pac [political action committee] money. We are not bankrolled by special interests. Unfortunately, that is the legacy right now, which I’m trying to break.”Under Trump, the federal government “has not delivered on their promise of affordability”, said Behn. “And Tennessee is at the epicenter of the affordability crisis.“We have some of the most expensive housing and rent. It is one of the worst places for workers in the country. We’re hitting all these metrics that are making it nearly impossible to survive in the state, which is why I’m running.”Tennessee is 10th in the US states in Consumer Affairs’ grocery cost burden rankings, which measure the share of income consumers in each state are required to spend on groceries. Housing has meanwhile become increasingly expensive across the state, according to the non-partisan policy research center Sycamore Institute, which attributed this to growing population, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a lag in home construction.Behn recently led a campaign against a push by Elon Musk’s Boring Company to build a high-speed underground tunnel for Tesla vehicles from downtown Nashville to the city’s airport. Despite vast local opposition, state Republicans circumvented local officials to unanimously provide the firm with access to state-owned land at no cost. Construction began last month.“Unfortunately, our government right now works clandestinely for the puppet masters rather than the people,” added Behn. “It’s a fight that I was willing to take, and I think it can be extrapolated to the broader resentment towards the billionaire boys’ club, and these multinational greedy corporations, selling us out and rigging the system in favor of themselves.”In Tennessee, Medicaid cuts under Trump and the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies are estimated to increase the uninsured population in the state by 210,000 people by 2034, according to analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation.At the same time, Trump’s tariffs are hitting the state hard, with a report by Pew Research finding last month that Tennessee is one of the states most vulnerable to tariffs, as global products contributed 21.9% of its gross domestic product in 2024.Van Epps has refused to participate in a debate with Behn ahead of the election. Her campaign has sought to create entry points for voters curious, or willing, to cross party lines. Behn has appeared on conservative talk radio shows and run a field campaign designed to knock on doors throughout the district, prioritizing voter contact in a state where turnout consistently ranks among the lowest in the US.“We’re running one of the most competitive races the state has ever seen, and I think people really appreciate that,” claimed Behn. “As a state legislator, I have organized the most town halls of any one of my colleagues. I have open communication. I’m highly accessible and that is how I’ll be as this district’s next congresswoman.“Whereas you have my opponent who is hiding from the press, hiding from the people, and only speaking to select closed-door cadres of people,” she continued. “I think it speaks to the moment – how you have a fighter for government, transparency, accountability, who believes in everyone participating in our democracy, versus a closed-door, special-interest candidate, who only is beholden to a special group of people, of which most folks don’t have access to.” More

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      Trump signs bill to compel release of more Epstein documents

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      Donald Trump signed a bill Wednesday directing the justice department to release files from the investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, surrendering in the face of joint pressure from Democratic opponents and the president’s conservative base.The signature marked a sharp reversal for Trump, who had the authority as president to release the documents himself, but chose not to.Democrats have gloried in the controversy over the files and the possibility they may contain compromising information about Trump, who had a personal friendship with Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.Trump sought to flip that script after signing the bill in a posting to Truth Social that pointed out Epstein’s ties to the Democratic party.“Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!,” Trump wrote on Wednesday night.The justice department has 30 days to release all files related to Epstein, including the investigation into his death by suicide in a federal prison cell. The legislation permits redacting identifying information of victims, but specifically bars officials from declining to disclose information over concerns about “embarrassment, reputational harm or political sensitivity”.Trump waffled on the issue for years before finally succumbing to political pressure. On the campaign trail, he pledged to release the Epstein files. Once in office, he changed his position, calling the issue a “hoax” and railing against those who wanted to make the documents public.But he reversed course in recent days after it was clear the House of Representatives would pass legislation, saying “we have nothing to hide” and that “it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’”.After Trump indicated his approval of the bill, Republican holdouts swiftly moved it through the House and then the Senate. Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, had stalled the bill for months, and after the House passed it, Johnson said he hoped the Senate would amend it, which it did not.The justice department said earlier this year that it had released all the documents it could about Epstein without hindering investigations or revealing information about his victims.“Much of the material is subject to court-ordered sealing,” a justice department memo from July said. “Only a fraction of this material would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial, as the seal served only to protect victims and did not expose any additional third parties to allegations of illegal wrongdoing.”It’s not clear what the department will release in response to the bill – the bill details a host of potential items that must be released, but provides exceptions for some materials.The bill calls for the attorney general to make unclassified Epstein-related documents publicly available “in a searchable and downloadable format”, including all investigations into Epstein, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, flight logs and travel records, individuals referenced or named in connection with his crimes, entities that were tied to his trafficking or financial networks, immunity deals and other plea agreements, internal communications about charging decisions, documentation of his detention and death, and details about any file deletions.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe department will have 30 days to turn over the documents. The bill provides for some exceptions, including redactions of victims’ identifying information or personal files, any depictions of child sexual abuse, releases that would jeopardize active investigations or prosecutions and depictions of death or abuse.Members of Congress released tens of thousands of documents that resurfaced and added depth to relationships Epstein had with prominent figures, including Larry Summers, the former treasury secretary, and Michael Wolff, the writer and Trump biographer.Trump and Epstein were once friends, and Trump’s name is in some of the documents released by members of Congress so far, though the mentions do not mean he was a party to any of Epstein’s criminal activity.Documents released by Democratic members of the House oversight committee included an email from Epstein to Wolff in which Epstein said of Trump: “Of course, he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.” In another, he called Trump the “dog that hasn’t barked”.Epstein emailed people about Trump regularly, usually derogatorily. “I have met some very bad people,” he wrote in one email. “None as bad as Trump. Not one decent cell in his body.” More

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      Democratic Florida lawmaker indicted for allegedly stealing $5m in Fema funds

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      Democratic representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly funneling more than $5m worth of federal disaster funds from her company into her 2021 congressional campaign.The indictment states that Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, stole $5m in Fema overpayments that their family healthcare company received, moving the money through multiple accounts to hide its origins. The indictment alleges that the majority of the money was used for Cherfilus-McCormick’s congressional campaign, as well as for the personal benefit of the defendants.“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” said attorney general Pamela Bondi.“No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain. We will follow the facts in this case and deliver justice.”The indictment also alleges that Cherfilus-McCormick and one of her staffers, Nadege Leblanc, arranged additional campaign contributions through straw donors, using the money obtained from Fema under the names of friends and relatives.Additional charges are being pressed against Cherfilus-McCormick and her tax preparer, David K Spencer, of conspiring to file a false federal tax return. If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in prison.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe Guardian has contacted Cherfilus-McCormick for comment. More

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      Justice department will release Epstein files within 30 days, says US attorney general – US politics live

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      The US justice department will release files from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days, attorney general Pam Bondi has said, after Congress voted nearly unanimously to force Donald Trump’s administration to make them public.The scandal has been a thorn in Trump’s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe his administration has covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death, which was ruled a suicide, in a Manhattan jail in 2019 as he faced federal sex trafficking charges.At a news conference today, Bondi confirmed that the DOJ will release its Epstein-related material within 30 days, as required by legislation that passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate yesterday. “We will continue to follow the law and encourage maximum transparency,” she said.But that release may not be comprehensive, as the agency may have to hold back material that could impact Trump-ordered investigations of Democratic figures who associated with Epstein.The department will also protect the identities of any sex-trafficking victims whose names appear in the documents, she said.The FBI intercepted phone calls, texts and other electronic communications of people who work or have worked for the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, as part of a federal corruption investigation of his former chief of staff and two Democratic operatives, according to letters to the targets reviewed by The Los Angeles Times.The former aide to Newson, Dana Williamson was arrested last week on federal charges that she allegedly stole $225,000 from a dormant state campaign account of the state’s former attorney general, Xavier Becerra.According to the 23-count indictment, Williamson conspired with Becerra’s former chief deputy in the California attorney general’s office and ex-chief of staff Sean McCluskie, along with lobbyist Greg Campbell to bill Becerra’s dormant campaign account for bogus consulting services.Williamson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.Prosecutors said the investigation began three years ago, during the Biden administration.The legal notifications from the FBI, mandated by the 1968 Federal Wiretap Act, are sent out to people whose private communications have been captured on federal wiretaps after investigations.A spokesperson for Newsom’s office said the governor did not receive a letter and the governor is not involved in the case against Williamson. Newsom was not mentioned in the indictments against the three aides.As of 3.52pm ET, on a grey afternoon in Washington, we’ve yet to hear from the White House about whether the press will watch Donald Trump sign the bill directing the justice department to release unclassified documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.We’ll make sure to update you if that changes.The president has nominated a new director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), in a move that allows the current acting director, Russell Vought, who also serves as the director of the office of management and budget, to remain in his position and continue dismantling the agency.Trump’s decision to nominate Stuart Levenbach, an official in the budget office, as the permanent director provides a crucial loophole that allows Vought to stay put, three weeks before he would otherwise have to step aside. Federal law says that an acting official can only serve for 210 days, unless the president nominates another person for the position.Vought took over the CFPB earlier this year, and has consistently pushed for the watchdog’s elimination, including trying to fire most of its staff.Today, Elizabeth Warren – the top Democrat on the Senate banking committee – said that Levenbach’s nomination was “nothing more than a front for Russ Vought to stay on as acting director indefinitely as he tries to illegally close down the agency”.Tom Steyer, the billionaire environmental activist who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, will run for California governor, he announced on Wednesday.The 68-year-old joins a crowded field of candidates seeking to replace Gavin Newsom, and in a statement released this week pledged to focus on the state’s intractable affordability crisis.“Californians deserve a life they can afford. But the Californians who make this state run are being run over by the cost of living. We need to get back to basics. And that means making corporations pay their fair share again,” Steyer said.With Newsom termed out from running again, several prominent Democrats have entered the race, including former congresswoman Katie Porter; Xavier Becerra, a former US cabinet member; Antonio Villaraigosa, a former state lawmaker who served as the LA mayor; and Betty Yee, who was the state controller from 2015 to 2023. Congressman Eric Swalwell is expected to announce plans to run.Porter was considered the frontrunner until October when video emerged of her appearing frustrated with a journalist during an interview with a local news outlet and threatening to walk out. In the aftermath of the incident, Republican Chad Bianco, the Riverside county sheriff who is running for governor, took the lead in polling. Steve Hilton, a former David Cameron adviser and Fox News host, is also running as a Republican.A majority of nationally registered voters said they would back a Democratic congressional candidate if the 2026 midterms were held today, according to a new poll by NPR/PBS News/Marist University.While 55% of respondents said they would support a Democrat, 41% would support the Republican, and 3% would back another candidate.Notably, 39% of the Americans surveyed said that they blame Democrats for the record-breaking government shutdown. Trump received 34% of the responsibility, while 26% blame congressional Republicans.

      The US justice department will release files from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days, Pam Bondi, the attorney general, has said, after Congress voted nearly unanimously to force Donald Trump’s administration to make them public. At a news conference today, Bondi confirmed that the justice department will release its Epstein-related material within 30 days, as required by legislation that passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate yesterday. “We will continue to follow the law and encourage maximum transparency,” she said.

      However, the department may have to hold back material that could affect Trump-ordered investigations of Democratic figures who associated with Epstein. They could argue that releasing certain documents would be prejudicial.

      The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has said it will not release a full US jobs report for the month of October, following the country’s longest ever federal government shutdown. Instead, the available figures will be published with November’s data in mid-December, the BLS said. The October data is expected to show negative job growth after about 100,000 federal workers participated in the deferred-resignation program and formally left payrolls in late September during the shutdown.

      In federal court today, Lindsey Halligan, the president’s handpicked choice for interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, and another prosecutor acknowledged that the entire grand jury never saw the final indictment against James Comey. Halligan charged the former FBI director with lying to Congress in September. But when the prosecution was questioned by Judge Michael Nachmanoff today, they admitted that the a new version of the indictment was not presented to the full panel after it rejected one of the charges.

      The US has signalled to Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine must accept a US-drafted framework to end Russia’s war that proposes Kyiv giving up territory and some weapons, two people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. The sources, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the proposals included cutting the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, among other things. Washington wants Kyiv to accept the main points, the sources said.
      In federal court today, Lindsey Halligan (the president’s handpicked choice for interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia) and another prosecutor acknowledged that the entire grand jury never saw the final indictment against James Comey.Halligan charged the former FBI director with lying to Congress in September. But when the prosecution was probed by Judge Michael Nachmanoff today, they admitted that the a new version of the indictment was not presented to the full panel, after they rejected one of the charges. Instead, Halligan gave the grand jury’s foreperson an updated version to sign. “The foreperson and another grand juror was also present,” she confirmed to Nachmanoff.“There is no indictment,” said Comey’s attorney Michael Dreeben, arguing that this error is grounds for dismissal.A Republican attempt to censure Stacey Plaskett, a Democratic delegate, over her real-time texts with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein collapsed on the House floor on Tuesday night, prompting a confrontation on the chamber floor and accusations that party leaders had struck a deal to protect members on both sides facing ethics controversies.The measure, which would have formally reprimanded Plaskett and removed her from the House intelligence committee over her text message exchanges with Epstein during a hearing, failed by a vote of 209 to 214.Republicans Don Bacon of Nebraska, Lance Gooden of Texas and Dave Joyce of Ohio voted with all Democrats against the resolution, while three other Republicans voted present.When newly released materials exposed Plaskett, a Democrat from the US Virgin Islands, for exchanging real-time messages with Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing, all Democrats voted against her censure.Then, immediately after the vote, Democrats withdrew a planned censure resolution against Cory Mills, a Florida Republican representative facing allegations of stolen valor, financial misconduct and domestic abuse. Mills has denied the accusations.The sequence prompted Lauren Boebert, a representative of Colorado, to shout at fellow Republicans on the House floor, wagging her finger and at one point directly confronting Mills.Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican representative from Florida, attempted to raise a parliamentary inquiry asking Mike Johnson, the House speaker, to “explain why leadership on both sides, both Democrat and Republican, are cutting back-end deals to cover up public corruption in the House of Representatives”.“Get it, girl,” Boebert shouted in response.The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has said it will not release a full US jobs report for the month of October, following the country’s longest ever federal government shutdown.Instead, the available figures will be published with November’s data in mid-December, the BLS said.The October data is expected to show negative job growth after around 100,000 federal workers participated in the deferred resignation program and formally left payrolls in late September during the shutdown.The announcement will have major implications for the Federal Reserve, whose officials are debating whether to lower interest rates again when they meet next month.On this the New York Times notes: “Policymakers have grown more divided in recent weeks, with those inclined to cut rates emphasizing their concerns about the labor market and those hesitant to make a move focusing on the risks posed by inflation reaccelerating again. Typically, new economic data would help to resolve some of those differences. But the Fed will not have much new data in hand much new data before it has to make its decision on 10 December.”The US justice department will release files from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days, attorney general Pam Bondi has said, after Congress voted nearly unanimously to force Donald Trump’s administration to make them public.The scandal has been a thorn in Trump’s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe his administration has covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death, which was ruled a suicide, in a Manhattan jail in 2019 as he faced federal sex trafficking charges.At a news conference today, Bondi confirmed that the DOJ will release its Epstein-related material within 30 days, as required by legislation that passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate yesterday. “We will continue to follow the law and encourage maximum transparency,” she said.But that release may not be comprehensive, as the agency may have to hold back material that could impact Trump-ordered investigations of Democratic figures who associated with Epstein.The department will also protect the identities of any sex-trafficking victims whose names appear in the documents, she said.The US president says the United States is “going to be selling Saudi Arabia some of the greatest military equipment ever built” and says “the airplanes” would be “approved very quickly”.Yesterday, Trump confirmed the US would sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, marking the first sale of the advanced fighter jets to a Middle Eastern state other than Israel.Trump also says that $270bn in agreements and sales were being signed between “dozens of companies” today.Trump reiterates that he signed an agreement designating Saudi Arabia a major non-Nato ally at last night’s dinner with the crown prince.“We’re taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major, non-Nato ally, which is something that is very important to them,” Trump said last night.The US currently has 19 other countries listed as major non-Nato allies, including Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar.“A stronger and more capable alliance will advance the interests of both countries, and it will serve the highest interest of peace,” Trump said during the dinner.Donald Trump and Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, have been delivering remarks to the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center. I’ll bring you any key lines that come out of that here.The US has signalled to Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine must accept a US-drafted framework to end Russia’s war which proposes Kyiv giving up territory and some weapons, two people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.The sources, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the proposals included cutting the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, among other things. Washington wants Kyiv to accept the main points, the sources said.Earlier, we covered Axios’s report of a secret US 28-point peace plan, hammered out with Russia (and without any direct input from Ukraine and other European allies), that is now on the table to end the war. According to Axios’s sources, the plan’s 28 points fall into four general buckets: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and future US relations with Russia and Ukraine.And this morning, Politico reported, citing a senior White House official, that “they expect a framework for ending the conflict to be agreed by all parties by the end of this month – and possibly ‘as soon as this week’”.Trump administration officials told the outlet last night that they were on the brink of a major breakthrough and it seemed as though the plan would be presented to Zelenskyy as a fait accompli.“What we are going to present [to Ukraine] is reasonable,” the senior White House official told Politico, with the mood in the administration one in which Zelenskyy, under pressure on the battlefield and at home in the face of a mounting corruption scandal, must accept what’s on offer.You can follow my colleague Jakub Krupa’s coverage of the war here:Lawyers for James Comey are arguing that the case against the former FBI director is nothing more than a personal attack, born out of Donald Trump’s desire to prosecute his political adversary.“This is an extraordinary case and it merits an extraordinary remedy,” Comey’s defense lawyer, Michael Dreeben, said today at a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Dreeben added that the president’s public comments about Comey are “effectively an admission that this is a political prosecution and not based on evidence”.A reminder that Comey is charged with lying to Congress in 2020, and has pleaded not guilty.On Monday, another federal judge found evidence of “government misconduct” in how Lindsey Halligan, the interim US attorney general for the eastern district of Virginia, secured criminal charges against the former FBI director, and ordered that grand jury materials be turned over to Comey’s defense team.Later today, we’re expecting a vote in the House that would repeal a provision tucked into the stopgap spending bill passed last week (which ended the record-breaking government shutdown) that allows senators to sue the federal government because their phone records were subpoenaed in 2023 by the special counsel investigating Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.Most Republicans in the House have derided the measure, while the Senate majority leader, John Thune, remained convinced it was necessary. “The House is going to do what they’re going to do with it,” he said of the lower chamber lawmakers. “It doesn’t apply to them.” However, a number of GOP senators have indicated they’re happy to do away with the provision. This even includes some of the eight lawmakers whose phone data the FBI sought and obtained as part of Jack Smith’s investigation.That vote is currently scheduled for 8:15pm ET.The Senate has now officially received the bill, passed in the House, which calls on the justice department to release the complete Epstein files. On Tuesday the upper chamber passed the legislation with unanimous consent – which means it now heads directly to Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.As I noted in my last post, we’re not clear on when that will be, since his schedule hasn’t been updated. More

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      House votes 427-1 to release Epstein files; Senate majority leader says chamber will take up vote ‘fairly quickly’ – US politics live

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      The US House overwhelmingly approved a bill demanding that the Justice Department release all files related to its investigation into the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The finally tally was 427-1, with five members not voting.Cheers rang out in the chamber, when the gavel banged the vote closed.Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, was the sole House member to vote against the measure.The near-unanimous vote was the culmination of a months-long effort led by a bipartisan group of House members that initially faced deep opposition from the president and House leadership. But as it became clear the Speaker’s manoeuvring to prevent a vote on the petition would not succeed, Trump reversed course and threw his support behind the effort.The bill next moves to the Senate. If it is approved by the upper chamber, it would then go to Trump for his signature. Trump told reporters on Monday he would sign the legislation if it reached his desk – still an if.Democrats, as well as the bill’s bipartisan sponsors, have called on Trump not to wait for Congress to act and instead to order the Justice Department to release the files, which he has the power to do.Marty Baron, the former executive editor of the Washington Post, called Donald Trump’s remarks on Tuesday, in which the president dismissed concerns about the Saudi regime’s 2018 murder of the Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, “a disgrace” in an email to TheWrap.As our colleague Julian Borger reports, when an ABC News reporter confronted Trump’s guest, Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, over the US intelligence assessment that he ordered the brutal murder of the dissident Saudi columnist, Trump stepped in to defend the Saudi leader, saying that “a lot of people didn’t like” the murder victim before pointing at bin Salman, and adding: “things happened, but he knew nothing about it”.Trump then attacked the reporter, Mary Bruce, and suggested that the FCC should strip ABC of its broadcast license because she asked what the president called “a horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question” of the Saudi leader, a man the president said was “highly respected”.Trump’s comments were a disgrace,” Baron wrote to TheWrap, a media business outlet. “‘Things happen,’ he said. Actually, someone made them happen. And that was the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He had Jamal Khashoggi assassinated, and then he and his government lied about what happened.”Trump couldn’t care less about the killing of a journalist unless he viewed that journalist as a supporter of his,” Baron continued. “In this instance, he suggests the killing was justified on the grounds that ‘a lot of people didn’t like’ Khashoggi. And then he ignores the facts of the brutal murder itself, suggesting MBS was clueless. Just when you think Trump has gone as low as possible, he goes still lower.”Three weeks after Trump left office in 2021, US intelligence agencies concluded that the crown prince, known as MBS, “approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi” and noted “the Crown Prince’s support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad”.

      The US House overwhelmingly approved a bill demanding that the Justice Department release all files related to its investigation into the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The finally tally was 427-1, with five members not voting. The near-unanimous vote was the culmination of a months-long effort led by a bipartisan group of House members that initially faced deep opposition from the president and House leadership. But as it became clear the Speaker’s manoeuvring to prevent a vote on the petition would not succeed, Trump reversed course and threw his support behind the effort.

      The bill next moves to the Senate. If it is approved by the upper chamber, it would then go to Trump for his signature. After the House voted today, the Senate’s top Republican, John Thune told reporters that a vote on the bill would happen “fairly quickly”. Thune added that it’s “not likely” the legislation will have any further amendments. This, despite calls from House speaker Mike Johnson and several GOP lawmakers, to make changes to further protect victims’ identities. A reminder, provisions to redact names and child abuse materials are already part of the legislation. For his part, Donald Trump has signaled he would sign the bill if it reached his desk.

      A panel of federal judges has ruled that Texas cannot use the 2025 congressional map for the midterms. Instead, the state must use the 2021 boundaries in the upcoming election. The map, drawn by the GOP lawmakers in Texas at the behest of Donald Trump, was the catalyst of a nationwide redistricting battle. In response, California voters passed a ballot initiative to redraw their own maps, offsetting the five seats that Republicans gained in Texas in the process. In today’s ruling, the judges, which included a Trump appointee, said that the creation of a new map appeared unconstitutional and “racially gerrymandered”.

      Meanwhile, at the White House today, the president welcomed Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman. It was the crown prince’s first visit to Washingtong since the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul. In the Oval Office, Trump brushed off questions from a reporter about MBS’s role in Khashoggi’s killing, saying “things happen”. The president added that bin Salman “knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that”. In 2021 US intelligence concluded that bin Salman had approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the Saudi regime.

      When it came to matters of business, MBS announced Saudi Arabia was raising its planned investments in the US to almost $1tn, up from $600bn that the Saudis said they planned to invest when Trump visited the kingdom in May. Trump also confirmed that he had agreed to sell the Saudis F-35 fighter jets despite some concerns within the administration that the sale could lead to China gaining access to the US technology behind the advanced weapon system.

      The Department of Education (ED) announced today that it is outsourcing a number of its functions to different agencies, in a move that is part of the administration’s wider plans to totally dismantle the department. The ED said that through six new interagency agreements, with the Department of Labor, Department of the Interior, and Department of Health and Human Services, it would “break up the federal education bureaucracy” and “move closer to fulfilling the President’s promise to return education to the states”.
      The Department of Education (ED) announced today that it is outsourcing a number of its functions to different agencies, in a move that is part of the administration’s wider plans to totally dismantle the department.The ED said that through six new interagency agreements, with the Department of Labor, Department of the Interior, and Department of Health and Human Services, it would “break up the federal education bureaucracy” and “move closer to fulfilling the President’s promise to return education to the states”.Trump ran on the promise that he would do away with the department responsible for the country’s education policy, and in March, he signed an executive order to dismantle the agency. Shuttering it outright requires congressional approval, but under the guise of education secretary, Linda McMahon, the scope of the department has diminished.The House of Representatives just voted to rebuke retiring Democratic congressman Chuy García for what his detractors said was a scheme to ensure that his chief of staff would be the only Democrat left on the ballot next year in his heavily blue district.The resolution, proposed by fellow Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, passed with almost all Republicans in favor, along with 23 Democrats. Three Democrats voted present.Perez accused Garcia of “election subversion” for announcing that he would not seek re-election next year, while, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported, quietly collecting signatures for his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, to be on the ballot. The two Garcias are not related.Democratic party leaders in the House had encouraged members to vote against the resolution, issuing a joint statement where they decried the “misguided resolution” and defending Chuy Garcia as “a good man who has always prioritized the people he represents, even while experiencing unthinkable family tragedy.” His wife is struggling with multiple sclerosis, and Garcia has said he is stepping down on the advice of his cardiologist. In 2023, his office announced the death of his daughter Rosa at the age of 28.Fabiola Rodriguez-Ciampoli, a spokesperson for the congressman, said, “he followed every rule and every filing requirement laid out by the state of Illinois. At a moment like this, he hopes his colleagues, especially those who speak about family values, can show the same compassion and respect that any family would want during a health crisis.”Others disagreed, with longtime Democratic strategist David Axelrod calling his actions “old-style, Chicago machine tactics to ensure his chief-of-staff would be the only name on the Dem ballot. It’s election denial of another kind!”Democratic senator Andy Kim said: “Chuy Garcia’s decision to end his re-election at the last second and plant his chief of staff as the only candidate to succeed him was undemocratic and should not be allowed. Standing against corruption means standing up no matter which political party violates.”John Thune, the majority leader and top Senate Republican, said that a vote on the full release of the Epstein files will happen “fairly quickly”.Speaking to reporters on the Hill after the House voted, almost unanimously, for the justice department to release their complete trove of documents relating to the disgraced financier, Thune said that it’s “not likely” the legislation will have any further amendments. This, despite calls from House speaker Mike Johnson and several GOP lawmakers, to make changes to further protect victims’ identities.A reminder, provisions to redact names and child abuse materials are already part of the legislation.As we mentioned earlier, the sole holdout in today’s vote to release the justice department files on Jeffrey Epstein was Republican congressman Clay Higgins. He said that the bill, in its current form, doesn’t adequately protect victims, survivors, and “thousands of innocent people”.The Louisiana lawmaker added:
      If the Senate amends the bill to properly address privacy of victims and other Americans, who are named but not criminally implicated, then I will vote for that bill when it comes back to the House.
      However, there are provisions in the legislation, as written, which redacts identities and examples of child abuse. If the upper chamber issues an amendment, the House will need to vote on the bill again. A move that the bipartisan co-sponsors say is a delay tactic and unnecessary.In a statement after Tuesday’s vote, congressman Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee demanded that the Senate majority leader John Thune take up the bill “immediately”.“Donald Trump is panicking and trying to stop our investigation. We need to know what he’s hiding, and what powerful men are responsible for the rape and abuse of children and women,” Garcia said. “And let’s be clear – Donald Trump has the power to release the files today. But he chooses to delay and deflect.”He added: “No more lies. No more secrets. We will get justice for the survivors. Release the files, NOW.”The US House overwhelmingly approved a bill demanding that the Justice Department release all files related to its investigation into the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The finally tally was 427-1, with five members not voting.Cheers rang out in the chamber, when the gavel banged the vote closed.Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, was the sole House member to vote against the measure.The near-unanimous vote was the culmination of a months-long effort led by a bipartisan group of House members that initially faced deep opposition from the president and House leadership. But as it became clear the Speaker’s manoeuvring to prevent a vote on the petition would not succeed, Trump reversed course and threw his support behind the effort.The bill next moves to the Senate. If it is approved by the upper chamber, it would then go to Trump for his signature. Trump told reporters on Monday he would sign the legislation if it reached his desk – still an if.Democrats, as well as the bill’s bipartisan sponsors, have called on Trump not to wait for Congress to act and instead to order the Justice Department to release the files, which he has the power to do.While the House votes, the Guardian’s congressional correspondent Chris Stein sends this dispatch from Capitol Hill.As the House debates the bill to require release of the government’s investigative files related to alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, survivors of his abuses clapped from the chamber’s gallery, prompting an admonition from the chair.“I rise today to acknowledge the survivors, family members and advocates who are here today and have never given up the legislation in front of us, at its core is about something very simple: The survivors deserve justice. The American people deserve the truth,” said Democratic congresswoman Adelita Grijlava.“Protecting women and children from pedophiles should not be a Democratic issue. Should not be a Republican issue. It should be a human rights issue and a matter of justice. I urge my colleagues to vote yes.”The group broke into applause after Grijalva — who, after a lengthy delay, provided the final signature on a discharge petition that forced a vote on this bill — finished her remarks.The Republican lawmaker presiding over the House then addressed the group, saying “the chair will remind all persons in the gallery that they are here as guests of the House, and that any manifestation of approval or disapproval of proceedings is in violation of the rules of the House.”Jamie Raskin, the Democratic congressman managing the party’s debate, chimed in, saying: “I’ll just add, they’re here as honored guests of the House, and we’re delighted they’re here.”Congressman Jamie Raskin, who has been leading the debate for Democrats on the House floor, issued a forceful rebuttal of the Speaker’s comments before the chamber moved to a vote.“We want the whole truth to come out,” Raskin said, arguing that it was Johnson and Republicans who have been dragging their feet on releasing the files, including delaying the swearing in of Adelita Grijalva, who provided the 218th signature to advance the petition.“Even the British Monarchy wouldn’t put up with this,” Raskin continued. “How about the American democracy? How about we say: ‘No way we’re not going to allow this cover up to go on for one day more.’” More

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      How did your representative vote on releasing the Epstein files?

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      The US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that will force the release of investigative files related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after Donald Trump and his Republican allies backed down from their opposition amid a scandal that has dogged the president since his return to the White House.Though Trump has for months dismissed the uproar over the government’s handling of the Epstein case as a “Democrat hoax”, he signaled his support for the House bill over the weekend, and said he would sign the measure if it reaches his desk. 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      House passes bill to release Epstein files with near-unanimous support

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      The US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill with nearly unanimous support that will force the release of investigative files related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after Donald Trump and his Republican allies backed down from their opposition amid a scandal that has dogged the president since his return to the White House.The measure now awaits consideration by the Senate, where the Republican majority leader, John Thune, has not said if or when he will put it up for a vote. A spokesperson for Thune did not respond to a request for comment.Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, announced after the bill’s House passage that he would later on Tuesday ask for the chamber to pass it unanimously.“We have an opportunity to get this bill done today and have it on the president’s desk to be signed into law tonight. We should seize that opportunity,” he said.Though Trump has for months dismissed the uproar over the government’s handling of the Epstein case as a “Democrat hoax”, he signaled his support for the House bill over the weekend, and said he would sign the measure if it reaches his desk. On Tuesday morning, the Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, announced he would vote for it, making its passage certain.Democrats, along with survivors of Epstein and their advocates who were seated in a House gallery, broke into applause after the bill was passed. The sole “no” vote came from Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican who said he worried the measure would make public identifying details of witnesses, potential suspects and others caught up in the investigation.Several of the president’s allies who voted for the bill did so only after criticizing it in floor speeches, arguing Democrats were being insincere but that the House could spend no more time on the matter.“As President Trump has stated, we have nothing to hide, nothing to hide here,” said Republican congressman Troy Nehls. “I’m voting to release the files so that we can move on from the [smear] campaign the Democrats have manufactured. God bless Donald J Trump.”Republican judiciary committee chair Jim Jordan argued that Democrats could have pushed for the files’ release during Joe Biden’s presidency. “Why now, after four years of doing nothing? Because going after President Trump is an obsession with these guys.”Even as he announced his support, Johnson criticized the measure for not doing enough to protect victims of Epstein, a financier who died in 2019 by what investigators determined was suicide while he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.“Everybody here, all the Republicans, want to go on record to show we’re for maximum transparency, but they also want to note that we’re demanding that this stuff get corrected before it is ever moves through the process and is complete,” Johnson said.Any changes to the bill made by the Senate would require it to be approved again by the House, probably delaying its enactment.Chuck Grassley, the Republican chair of the Senate judiciary committee, wrote on X that he had “been calling for full transparency in the Epstein case since 2019” and that the chamber should vote on the bill “ASAP”.The Epstein case returned dramatically to the public eye in July, when the justice department and FBI released a memo saying they had nothing further to disclose about the investigation. That flew in the face of statements made by Trump and his top officials that indicated they would release more information about Epstein’s offenses and ties to global elites once they took office.Shortly after, four dissident Republicans in the House and all Democrats banded together to force a vote on a bill to release the investigative files, over Johnson’s objections.The leaders of that effort cheered the imminent vote, with the Democratic congressman Ro Khanna calling Tuesday “the first day of real reckoning for the Epstein class”.“Because survivors spoke up, because of their courage, the truth is finally going to come out, and when it comes out, this country is really going to have a moral reckoning. How did we allow this to happen?” Khanna said at a press conference, adding that the case was “one of the most horrific and disgusting corruption scandals in our country’s history.”Trump’s friendship with Epstein has had staying power in American politics as the late disgraced financier had links to many other rich and powerful figures in the US and overseas. The president’s dramatic shift came after it became increasingly apparent that the bill would pass the GOP-controlled House, most likely with significant support from Republican lawmakers. Trump in recent days changed his approach from outright opposition to declarations of indifference.“I DON’T CARE!” the president wrote in a social media post on Sunday. “All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT.”Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he did not want the Epstein scandal to “deflect” from the White House’s successes, and claimed it was a “hoax” and “a Democrat problem”.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“We’ll give them everything,” he told reporters. “Let the Senate look at it, let anybody look at it, but don’t talk about it too much, because honestly, I don’t want to take it away from us.”Thomas Massie, an iconoclastic Republican congressman who frequently defies Trump and joined with Khanna to pursue the files’ release, noted the president’s reversal on the Epstein issue.“We fought the president, the attorney general, the FBI director, the speaker of the House and the vice-president to get this win,” he said. “But they’re on our side today, though, so let’s give them some credit as well.”In July, Khanna and Massie turned to a procedural tactic known as a discharge petition to circumvent House leadership and compel a vote on their bill, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, if a majority of the 435-member House signs on.Johnson went to extraordinary lengths to avoid a vote on the the measure, which splintered his conference. Democrats accused the speaker of delaying the swearing-in of the Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva to prevent her from becoming the decisive 218th signatory. She signed her name to the petition moments after officially taking office last week.As president, Trump has the authority to order the justice department to release the documents in its possession, as he has previously done with the government records related to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and John F Kennedy.Emails made public last week by a House committee that has opened a separate inquiry into the scandal showed Epstein believed Trump “knew about the girls”, though it was not clear what that phrase meant. The White House said the released emails contained no proof of wrongdoing by Trump.Last week, the president instructed the justice department to investigate prominent Democrats’ ties to Epstein. The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, who earlier this year said a review of the files revealed no further investigative leads, replied to Trump that she would get on it right away and has appointed a prosecutor to lead the effort.The Epstein scandal is a core issue for a swathe of Trump’s rightwing base, some of whom believe in conspiracy theories that surround Epstein and his coterie of powerful friends and associates. Unlike many other issues, the Epstein files have prompted rebellions from Trump’s supporters in politics and the media, who have called on the president to follow through on his campaign promise to release them.Meanwhile, several Epstein survivors have ramped up pressure on Congress and Trump to advance the measure.“It’s time that we put the political agendas and party affiliations to the side. This is a human issue. This is about children,” survivor Haley Robson said at the press conference. “There is no place in society for exploitation, sexual crimes or exploitation of women.”She then addressed her comments to Trump, saying: “While I do understand that your position has changed on the Epstein files, and I’m grateful that you have pledged to sign this bill, I can’t help to be skeptical of what the agenda is.”On Monday night, activists projected an image of Trump and Epstein on to the justice department building, accompanied by the message: “Release the files now.” More