Trump’s justice department asks Manhattan federal court to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts
Acting at Donald Trump’s direction, the justice department filed a motion in a Manhattan federal court on Friday, asking a judge to unseal grand jury testimony transcripts from the federal sex-trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender.
The move to share some but not all of the files related to Epstein come after fevered speculation about Trump’s connections to Epstein, who was arrested and charged in 2019 and then found dead in his Manhattan jail cell.
Releasing the transcripts, however, will not satisfy even some supporters of the president who want to see him release all of the files from the federal investigation into Epstein, including a rumored list of powerful men alleged to have had sex with minors Epstein trafficked, and other documents.
The move comes after Trump filed a libel suit in Miami on Friday accusing two Wall Street Journal reporters, and Rupert Murdoch and his companies, of defaming him by reporting that one of the documents examined by prosecutors was a “bawdy” letter from Trump to Epstein in 2003, three years before Epstein was first indicted.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty in state court in Florida to two felony charges, including soliciting a minor, in exchange for a deal in which he avoided federal charges.
Over a decade later, in 2019, the federal investigation into Epstein was revived and he was charged by Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney for the southern district of New York, of having “sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls by enticing them to engage in sex acts with him in exchange for money” between 2002 and 2005 in both New York and Palm Beach.
Trump’s outrage over the report that suggests he sent Epstein a lewd birthday letter in 2003 is likely connected to the fact that this was during the period that Epstein was accused of committing the crimes he was later charged with.
Trump was known to have socialized with Epstein before his arrest and publicly called him a “terrific guy” who “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side”, in an interview with New York magazine in 2002.
Key events
US attorney general calls Epstein case ‘a matter of public concern’ in motion to unseal 2019 grand jury transcripts
In a formal request asking a federal judge to unseal grand jury transcripts from the 2019 investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender and longtime associate of Donald Trump, US attorney general Pam Bondi calls the case “a matter of public concern”.
In the motion, filed on Friday in a Manhattan federal court, Bondi, and her deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer for Trump, write that the request was prompted by the uproar following the justice department’s 6 July memo “describing an exhaustive review undertaken of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein” which was undertaken with the FBI “to determine whether evidence existed that could predicate an investigation into uncharged third parties.” The memo concluded that there was no such evidence existed.
“Since July 6, 2025, there has been extensive public interest in the basis for the Memorandum’s conclusions”, Bondi and Blanche write. “While the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation continue to adhere to the conclusions reached in the Memorandum, transparency to the American public is of the utmost importance to this Administration. Given the public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation into Epstein, the Department of Justice moves the Court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts in United States v. Epstein, subject to appropriate redactions of victim-related and other personal identifying information.”
They add that the justice department will work with prosecutors in Manhattan, where the grand jury testimony was taken, “to make appropriate redactions of victim-related information and other personal identifying information prior to releasing the transcripts. Transparency in this process will not be at the expense of our obligation under the law to protect victims.”
“Public officials, lawmakers, pundits, and ordinary citizens remain deeply interested and concerned about the Epstein matter” they argue later in the motion. “Indeed, other jurists have released grand jury transcripts after concluding that Epstein’s case qualifies as a matter of public concern.”
“After all, Jeffrey Epstein is ‘the most infamous pedophile in American history’” according to previous filings, and the “facts surrounding Epstein’s case ‘tell a tale of national disgrace.’”
Trump’s justice department asks Manhattan federal court to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts
Acting at Donald Trump’s direction, the justice department filed a motion in a Manhattan federal court on Friday, asking a judge to unseal grand jury testimony transcripts from the federal sex-trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender.
The move to share some but not all of the files related to Epstein come after fevered speculation about Trump’s connections to Epstein, who was arrested and charged in 2019 and then found dead in his Manhattan jail cell.
Releasing the transcripts, however, will not satisfy even some supporters of the president who want to see him release all of the files from the federal investigation into Epstein, including a rumored list of powerful men alleged to have had sex with minors Epstein trafficked, and other documents.
The move comes after Trump filed a libel suit in Miami on Friday accusing two Wall Street Journal reporters, and Rupert Murdoch and his companies, of defaming him by reporting that one of the documents examined by prosecutors was a “bawdy” letter from Trump to Epstein in 2003, three years before Epstein was first indicted.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty in state court in Florida to two felony charges, including soliciting a minor, in exchange for a deal in which he avoided federal charges.
Over a decade later, in 2019, the federal investigation into Epstein was revived and he was charged by Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney for the southern district of New York, of having “sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls by enticing them to engage in sex acts with him in exchange for money” between 2002 and 2005 in both New York and Palm Beach.
Trump’s outrage over the report that suggests he sent Epstein a lewd birthday letter in 2003 is likely connected to the fact that this was during the period that Epstein was accused of committing the crimes he was later charged with.
Trump was known to have socialized with Epstein before his arrest and publicly called him a “terrific guy” who “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side”, in an interview with New York magazine in 2002.
Trump files libel suit against Wall Street Journal reporters, Murdoch and companies over report on letter to Epstein
Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Friday against Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and two Wall Street Journal reporters, raising claims under federal libel law, court records show.
Reuters reports that a copy of the complaint was not immediately available. The case was filed in Miami federal court.
The day so far
The White House is attempting to press ahead with other business but US politics remains consumed on Friday with Donald Trump’s desperate effort to deflect attention away from his administration’s decision to not release files from the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender who was friends with the future president before he was first indicted. Here are some of the day’s developments in that story, and the US government, so far:
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House Republicans passed Trump’s funding cut proposal just after midnight on Friday – clawing back nearly $8bn in federal funding for foreign aid and $1.1bn in support for public broadcasting. The 216-213 vote, with two Republicans, Mike Turner of Ohio and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, opposing the package alongside all Democrats, could have been a tie but for the fact that three Democrats elected in November have already died.
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Trump began his day by arguing on his social media platform that it was impossible that a ‘bawdy letter’ to Epstein from Trump was in the justice department files since Democrats would have revealed it when they were in control of the justice department. “If there was a ‘smoking gun’ on Epstein, why didn’t the Dems, who controlled the ‘files’ for four years, and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!” Trump posted. His argument is flawed, however, since: a. Democrats like the former attorney general Merrick Garland are defenders of the norm that the justice department should be apolitical, and investigative files in cases that do not go to trial are supposed to remain secret; and b. James Comey, a Republican, not a Democrat, was fired as FBI director by Trump two years before the justice department arrested and charged Epstein.
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Steve Bannon has said that the Wall Street Journal story about the birthday letter bearing Trump’s name has united the president’s supporters behind him.
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Democrats are questioning the timing of CBS’s announcement that it was canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company Paramount for settling a $16m lawsuit with Trump.
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The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency visited Washington this week as Israel seeks the Trump administration’s help in ethnically cleansing Gaza of its Palestinian population, Axios reported, citing two unnamed sources.
‘Public deserves to know’ if CBS’s cancellation of Colbert show was for political reasons, demand Democrats
Democrats are questioning the timing of CBS’s announcement that it was canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company Paramount for settling a $16m lawsuit with Donald Trump.
Colbert panned Paramount for settling with Trump over the president’s claim that CBS News deceptively edited an interview with the then presidential candidate Kamala Harris. He called the settlement, which coincided with Paramount seeking approval from the US Federal Communications Commission for an $8.4bn merger with Skydance Media (a company ran by David Ellison, son of close Trump ally Larry Ellison), “a big fat bribe”.
That sentiment was echoed by senator Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, who wrote on X that the settlement “looks like bribery”. Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington said: “People deserve to know if this is a politically motivated attack on free speech.”
Independent senator Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, also suggested that CBS’s announcement that the show would end in May 2026 was no coincidence. “CBS’s billionaire owners pay Trump $16m to settle a bogus lawsuit while trying to sell the network to Skydance,” he said. “Stephen Colbert, an extraordinary talent and the most popular late night host, slams the deal. Days later, he’s fired. Do I think this is a coincidence? NO.”
And senator Adam Schiff, of California, who was a guest on Colbert’s show last night, demanded more answers as to whether the show was canceled for political reasons. “If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know,” he wrote on X.
Celebrities have been expressing similar feelings around the timing of Colbert getting the axe. Actor John Cusack shared a clip of Colbert on social media and wrote: “He’s not groveling enough to American fascism – Larry Ellison needs his tax cuts – doesn’t need comedians reminding people they are not cattle.”
Severance actor Adam Scott called it “absolute bullshit” and Jamie Lee Curtis, asked for her thoughts during a red carpet interview, said “it’s bad” and that “they’re trying to silence people”.
Trump signs stablecoin law as crypto industry aims for mainstream adoption
Donald Trump has signed a law to create a regulatory regime for US-dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies – or stablecoins – a milestone that could pave the way for the digital assets to become an everyday way to make payments and move money.
The bill, dubbed the Genius Act, passed in the House by 308-122, receiving support from nearly half the Democratic members and most Republicans.
It marks a huge win for crypto supporters, who have long lobbied for such a regulatory framework in a bid to gain greater legitimacy for the industry.
“This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and pioneering spirit,” said Trump at the signing event, attended by several crypto executives.
Trump also said he was committed to preserving the dollar’s global status as a reserve currency and pledged to never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency in the US.
Trump has reiterated his threat of imposing tariffs on members of the Brics group of nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and said the group would end very quickly if they ever form in a meaningful way.
“When I heard about this group from Brics, six countries, basically, I hit them very, very hard. And if they ever really form in a meaningful way, it will end very quickly,” Trump said.
Trump teases ‘big’ trade deals soon, suggesting when he sends tariff letter that signifies a deal
The government has some “big” trade deals to announce soon, Donald Trump said just now at the bill signing.
“When I send out the paper that you’re paying 35% or 40% tariffs, that’s a deal,” he said. “Then they’ll call and see if they can make a little bit different kind of a deal, like opening up their country to trade.”
Donald Trump is from the White House speaking now and is expected to sign the bipartisan Genius Act into law shortly.
The cryptocurrency legislation is the first of its kind, aiming to regulate stablecoins. The House overwhelmingly passed the bill in a 308-122 vote yesterday, after a handful of Republicans initially blocked it over a policy dispute.
US rejects WHO global pandemic response accord
The United States has rejected an agreement adopted by members of the World Health Organization to improve preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to Covid-19, the government said.
The Department of State and Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement they had transmitted on Friday the official US rejection of the legally binding pact, which was adopted in Geneva in May after three years of negotiations.
The pact aims to ensure that drugs, therapeutics and vaccines are globally accessible when the next pandemic hits. It requires participating manufacturers to allocate a target of 20% of their vaccines, medicines and tests to the WHO during a pandemic to ensure poorer countries have access.
US negotiators left discussions about the accord after Donald Trump began a 12-month process of withdrawing the US – by far the WHO’s largest financial backer – from the agency when he took office in January. Its exit means the US would not be bound by the pact.
“Developed without adequate public input, these amendments expand the role of the WHO in public health emergencies, create additional authorities for the WHO for shaping pandemic declarations, and promote WHO’s ability to facilitate ‘equitable access’ of health commodities,” the American statement said.
“Terminology throughout the 2024 amendments is vague and broad, risking WHO-coordinated international responses that focus on political issues like solidarity, rather than rapid and effective actions,” the statement, jointly issued by secretary of state Marco Rubio and secretary of health and human services Robert F Kennedy Jr, went on.
Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, had slammed WHO in a video address to the Assembly during its vote, saying it had failed to learn from the lessons of the pandemic with the new agreement.
Kennedy and Rubio said on Friday that the rejection protects US sovereignty. In fact, the pact leaves health policy to national governments and contains nothing that overrides national sovereignty.
Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has weighed in on the latest CBS announcement of its cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show, writing on X:
“CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery.”
She went on to add:
“America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”
On Monday, during his monologue, Colbert said: “I don’t know if anything – anything – will repair my trust in this company. But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16m would help.” He mockingly added that the technical name in legal circles is “a big fat bribe”.
Meanwhile, Jon Stewart, who works for Comedy Central – which is also owned by Paramount – condemned the deal on air last week, calling it “shameful”.
He added: “I would assume internally, this is devastating to the people who work in a place that pride themselves on contextual, good journalism?”
Aaron Glantz
The US Department of Veterans Affairs has enthusiastically joined Donald Trump’s war on DEI – demanding that staffers report colleagues who engage in diversity initiatives, banning LGBTQ+ pride flags from VA hospitals and shuttering an office investigating why Black veterans are more likely to have their mental health disability claims rejected.
Last week, VA secretary Doug Collins tweeted: “VA is now squarely focused on Veterans – not out-of-touch, woke causes such as DEI and gender dysphoria treatments.”
Collins’ pronouncement comes as he faces tough questions from US Senate and House members in the wake of a Guardian report that the agency had quietly removed language from its hospital bylaws that explicitly barred discrimination based on patients’ marital status or political views.
Seventy House members wrote to express “profound alarm” that doctors and other VA medical providers “will now be able to refuse treatment” based on veterans’ political views or whether they are unmarried, widowed or part of a same-sex couple.
For the full story, click here:
Israeli spy chief visits US amid bid to move Palestinians out of Gaza – report
The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency visited Washington this week as Israel seeks the Trump administration’s help in moving Palestinian people out of Gaza, Axios is reporting, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.
Per Axios’s report, the spy chief, David Barnea, told White House envoy Steve Witkoff that Israel has been speaking in particular with Ethiopia, Indonesia and Libya.
The Israeli government stands accused of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, with its stated goal of capturing the entire strip, deporting Palestinian people from the land, and remaining there indefinitely.
While Benjamin Netanyahu’s government claims such “relocation” would be “voluntary”, legal experts describe it as “a blueprint for crimes against humanity”.
Israel’s scheme to move the entire population of Gaza into a so-called “humanitarian city” on the ruins of Rafah before implementing its forced emigration plan breaks international law, Michael Sfard, one of Israel’s leading human rights lawyers, told my colleague Emma Graham-Harrison earlier this month.
[Israeli defense minister Israel Katz] laid out an operational plan for a crime against humanity. It is nothing less than that. It is all about population transfer to the southern tip of the Gaza Strip in preparation for deportation outside the strip.
While the government still calls the deportation ‘voluntary’, people in Gaza are under so many coercive measures that no departure from the strip can be seen in legal terms as consensual.
When you drive someone out of their homeland that would be a war crime, in the context of a war. If it’s done on a massive scale like he plans, it becomes a crime against humanity.
Trump reportedly pushing for 15-20% minimum tariff on all EU goods
Donald Trump is pushing for a minimum tariff of 15% to 20% in any deal with the European Union, the Financial Times is reporting, and the administration is now looking at a reciprocal tariff rate that exceeds 10%, even if a deal is reached.
Trump has also been unmoved by the latest EU offer to reduce car tariffs, and would keep duties on the sector at 25% as planned, the report said, citing sources.
