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Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Justice Department asks court to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury records
The Justice Department has asked a federal court to unseal grand jury transcripts in Jeffrey Epstein's case amid a firestorm over the Trump administration's handling of records related to the wealthy financier. Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche filed a motion urging the court to release the transcripts a day after President Donald Trump directed the Justice Department to do so. The Trump administration has been embroiled in controversy since the Justice Department last week announced that it would not be releasing any more evidence in its possession from Epstein's investigation. Mr Trump's demand to release the grand jury transcripts came after The Wall Street Journal reported on a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Mr Trump's name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein's 50th birthday. Mr Trump denied writing the letter, calling it 'false, malicious, and defamatory'.
Vox
22 minutes ago
- Vox
Trump's attack on NPR and PBS, briefly explained
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: The House passed a bill clawing back billions in federal funding for foreign aid and public media early Friday morning, sending it to President Donald Trump's desk for a signature. What does the bill do? The bill, called a rescissions package, targeted about $9 billion in total funding and originates from a White House request to withdraw funding that had already been allocated. The vast majority of that money comes from foreign aid programs. The remainder, some $1.1 billion, was money for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds PBS, NPR, and their affiliate stations. What does this mean for foreign aid? The rescissions request impacts $7.9 billion in foreign aid spending, including money for migration and refugee assistance, international peacekeeping, development assistance, and disaster relief. One foreign aid program, PEPFAR, escaped. A $400 million cut to the enormously effective HIV/AIDS prevention program, which has saved millions of lives in its 20-plus years of existence, was removed from the rescissions package after pushback by Senate Republicans. What about public media? National Public Radio receives only a small portion of its funding from CPB, but the cuts stand to impact local affiliate stations and PBS more substantially. CPB warned in a statement that the bill's passage will mean 'many local public radio and television stations will be forced to shut down,' and noted it could also impact access to emergency alerts. The Logoff The email you need to stay informed about Trump — without letting the news take over your life. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Why does this matter? This was a relatively small amount of money in the context of the federal budget, but the lost funding will have real impacts. The bill also reflects an ongoing effort by Trump to seize the power of the purse from Congress. As Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of two Republican senators to oppose the measure, put it, 'What we're getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, 'This is the priority. We want you to execute on it.'' And with that, it's time to log off…
Politico
22 minutes ago
- Politico
Trump v. the WSJ
Presented by Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond. Send tips | Subscribe | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben President DONALD TRUMP's threats against news organizations are neither new nor unexpected — but if he makes good on his promise to sue the Wall Street Journal over its bombshell news report alleging he sent a lewd letter to JEFFREY EPSTEIN, it would be a major escalation in his long-running assault on the press. POLITICO has not verified the existence of the letter and Trump has denied the report. Trump during both terms threatened to sue multiple news organizations and his reelection campaigns have sued on his behalf. Just last month, his personal lawyer sent letters to The New York Times and CNN demanding the outlets 'retract and apologize for' their reporting on the U.S. military strikes on Iran. But to actually follow through on a libel suit against a news organization that could play out while he's occupying the Oval Office would be an entirely different beast for the president. Some outlets reported that Trump filed the suit this evening. No sitting president in modern history has wielded the threat of defamation litigation against news organizations so forcefully. Both of Trump's reelection campaigns filed a number of lawsuits against media organizations, including The New York Times, CNN and The Washington Post, though courts dismissed those cases. Public officials must clear a high bar for defamation, proving that false statements were made with 'actual malice,' according to the legal precedent established in the 1964 landmark Supreme Court case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. 'Given that we're talking about what I think constitutes a matter of legitimate public interest and concern, barring showing that they acted recklessly or with knowledge that it was not true, it would be virtually impossible for him to prevail in the libel suit,' said JANE KIRTLEY, a professor of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota. But that's not the only muscle Trump could flex against the Journal, its parent company News Corp, or their owner, RUPERT MURDOCH, whom Trump has also threatened to sue. 'I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his 'pile of garbage' newspaper, the WSJ,' Trump said today on social media. 'That will be an interesting experience!!!' Over the past eight months, the president has won more than $30 million in settlements from legal actions he took against ABC News and Paramount, CBS News' parent company. Paramount's settlement for $16 million earlier this month came as the president has tightened his grip on the Federal Communications Commission, which is reviewing a multi-billion-dollar deal for Paramount. Both Paramount and the FCC have denied a connection. And Trump in December reached a $16 million settlement in a defamation lawsuit against ABC. Trump is also suing The Des Moines Register and its parent company, Gannett, over an unfavorable poll the paper published days before Election Day last year. Spokespeople for News Corp and the Journal did not immediately respond to a request for comment. MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A DOGE staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming DOGE moves? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@ Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe! POTUS PUZZLER Which president's brother was a former journalist? (Answer at bottom.) Agenda Setting DOGE CUTS CODIFIED: Congress late last night codified a small piece of the hundreds of billions of dollars DOGE has pinpointed as 'waste,' our KATHERINE TULLY-McMANUS and JENNIFER SCHOLTES report. House Republicans gave the green light to Trump's proposal to claw back $9 billion in congressionally approved public media and foreign assistance spending. It's less than the administration's original $9.4 billion proposal, which would have cut $400 million from the global AIDS fighting program, PEPFAR. But the cuts spell the end to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has long been the target of the Trump administration. Some of the foreign assistance programs which 'align with administration policies' will be administered by the State Department, Secretary of State MARCO RUBIO said earlier this month. The cuts to NPR and PBS — which have been on air for decades, largely with bipartisan support — come after years of GOP suspicion of public media and Trump opposition to the media. As our JORDAIN CARNEY and MEREDITH LEE HILL report, congressional Republicans are fretting over the prospect of another rescissions process. White House budget chief RUSS VOUGHT indicated Thursday that a second request to rescind congressionally approved spending is likely coming soon. ALL ABOUT THAT OIL: The Trump administration's latest action could be the final blow to the country's wind and solar industry, our ZACK COLMAN and JOSH SIEGEL report. As POLITICO reported Wednesday, the Interior Department issued a directive requiring Interior Secretary DOUG BURGUM's personal approval for even the most routine activities related to wind and solar projects on federal lands. The directive could have a much broader impact, industry officials, financiers and lawyers say, affecting scores of projects on private land that must now pass through or connect with projects on Interior-managed federal land. 'It is definitely playing favorites, and they've made it very clear they do not support continuation of new wind and solar projects,' said Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-Alaska), adding the Interior memo 'is like putting the final nail into' a last-minute compromise she helped negotiate as part of the GOP's megalaw offering more time for projects that begin construction in the next 12 months to qualify for tax credits. KIDDING … SORT OF: The Trump administration will release some of the congressionally appropriated funds that help pay for summer and after-school programs, our JUAN PEREZ JR. reports. An OMB review of the Education Department's 21st Century Community Learning Centers program is complete, according to a senior administration official who said the money — estimated to total approximately $1.3 billion — will be released. In the Courts WASHINGTON LAW BLOCKED: A federal judge has barred Washington state from enforcing a new law requiring priests to report evidence of child abuse learned during confession — a win for the Trump administration, which had intervened in the lawsuit on the side of the Roman Catholic clergy, our KYLE CHENEY writes in. U.S. District Judge DAVID ESTUDILLO, a JOE BIDEN appointee, agreed that the law appeared to infringe on the Constitution's guarantee of the free exercise of religion, forcing Catholic priests to violate the 'sacramental seal' of confession. In Catholicism, the judge noted, 'any priest who directly violates the sacramental seal is subject to automatic excommunication and risks eternal damnation.' The Trump administration had filed a so-called 'complaint in intervention' to join the lawsuit earlier this month. BACK IN BUSINESS: A federal judge on Thursday restored commissioner REBECCA KELLY SLAUGHTER at the Federal Trade Commission, our ALFRED NG reports. U.S. District Judge LOREN AliKHAN ruled that Trump's firing of the Democratic appointee in March was illegal, saying it violated the FTC Act and protections under a 1935 Supreme Court precedent that prevents presidents from unilaterally firing officials at independent agencies. WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT TRIMMING DOWN: EPA Administrator LEE ZELDIN announced today that his agency is planning to lay off additional employees and eliminate its standalone science branch, POLITICO's E&E News' ELLIE BORST and KEVIN BOGARDUS report. The agency did not say exactly how many people will receive RIF notices, but they did say that with 'organizational improvements,' EPA will save $748.8 million. What We're Reading How bipartisan support for public media unraveled in the Trump era (NPR's David Folkenflik) With PBS funding cut, will the next generation be raised by 'Skibidi Toilet'? (WaPo's Tatum Hunter) How Sam Altman Outfoxed Elon Musk to Become Trump's AI Buddy (WSJ's Keach Hagey, Dana Mattioli and Josh Dawsey) How Trump's antisemitism task force is leading an assault on DEI, colleges (WaPo's Laura Meckler, Dan Rosenzwieg-Ziff, Susan Svrluga, Perry Stein and Emily Davies) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER Former President DWIGHT EISENHOWER's younger brother, MILTON EISENHOWER, graduated from Kansas State University in 1923 with a bachelor's degree in industrial journalism. And while still studying, he became the city editor of the Abilene Daily Reflector. The younger Eisenhower later became a prominent figure, serving as the president of Kansas State, Penn State University and Johns Hopkins University.
