Trump Admin is 'Ready' to 'Unseal' Another Trove of Epstein Documents, Pam Bondi Declares Following Bombshell Report
President Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to announce that he had directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the public release of grand jury testimony from Epstein's prosecution.
"Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony subject to court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!" the president wrote on Thursday night.
Bondi responded the same night, saying the Department of Justice is "ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts."
Trump and Bondi's announcements came just hours after a bombshell report revealed that Trump had written Epstein a note for his 50th birthday, which included a suggestive drawing and a friendly letter, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Following the publishing of the article, Trump threatened to sue the publication and railed after its owner Rupert Murdoch, who had reportedly promised to "take care of" the article but failed.
"President Trump has already beaten George Stephanopoulos/ABC, 60 Minutes/CBS, and others, and looks forward to suing and holding accountable the once great Wall Street Journal," he wrote in another Truth Social post.
The Trump administration has faced continued pressure from MAGA supporters and Democrats alike after the Department of Justice released hours of footage allegedly depicting the outside of Epstein's cell, attempting to show that he committed suicide.
However, reports demonstrated that the footage had been edited. Furthermore, the DOJ and FBI stated that Epstein's client list did not exist, despite Bondi seemingly stating that it was "sitting on [her] desk" just months ago.
Originally published on Latin Times
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
DW
9 hours ago
- DW
Chancellor Merz and the E3: Germany pivots toward Europe – DW – 07/19/2025
A new tripartite alliance between Germany, France and the UK has emerged in response to the threat from Russia and doubts about US support for European security. Germany has had an official friendship with France for more than 60 years in the form of the Elysee Treaty. Now there is also one with the United Kingdom— the first comprehensive bilateral treaty between the two nations since the end of the Second World War. Above all, the treaty signed on Thursday provides for close security and arms cooperation, including mutual assistance obligations in the event of a crisis, though this is something that has long existed within NATO. A few days before German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed the treaty in London, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte also paid a state visit to the UK that lasted several days, including a carriage ride with the royal couple and a state banquet. Their visit, too, was primarily about the security of Europe's two nuclear powers. Merz, Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also traveled together on a train to Kyiv a few weeks ago to assure Ukraine of their continued support. Photos from the trip show the three of them in relaxed and informal conversation. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk joined them after taking another train. "E3" is the relatively new acronym for the cooperation between the three major western European nations of Germany, France and the UK. Although France and Germany are already close partners within the European Union, the UK has been on the sidelines since Brexit, when it withdrew from the 27-member political and economic union. But these differences have been set aside to address two pressing issues: the threat from Russia and uncertainty over whether US President Donald Trump would back European NATO states in the event of war. The nuclear deterrence of France and the UK, as Merz has repeatedly hinted, could supplement US protection for Europe, and perhaps even replace it in the longer term, should Washington turn its back on Europe altogether. Merz's inaugural visit to Washington in June was generally deemed a success, and his joint press appearance with Trump went off without exposing any major rifts. By contrast, Trump and Vice President JD Vance had snubbed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of cameras in the Oval Office in February. The scene appalled Merz at the time. Merz said little at his press conference with Trump and appeared to be nervous, while Trump talked all the more. The chancellor mainly promised more defense spending, and the US president seemed satisfied. "Trump is not interested in partnership, but in vassalage," University of Halle-Wittenberg political scientist Johannes Varwick wrote to DW. Immediately after his election victory in February, Merz said that Europe should "achieve independence from the US" in terms of defense policy. But this is unrealistic, said Henning Hoff from the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). "In view of Europe's great dependence on the US in terms of security policy, openly turning away from Washington would be reckless and unwise," he wrote to DW. Varwick concurs: "There can be no question of independence," either politically or militarily, he wrote. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In London, Merz hinted that while security cooperation with the UK can supplement the US defense guarantee, it could be no substitute. In a BBC interview, the chancellor also agreed with the US President when it came to European defense spending: "We know that we have to do more on our own and we have been free-riders in the past," he said. "They are asking us to do more, and we are doing more now," he added, referring to Germany's new plans to massively increase its own defense spending. Merz, who heads Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union, repeatedly accused the previous government under center-left Social Democrat Olaf Scholz of neglecting relations with France and Poland. Immediately after taking office in May, Merz traveled to Paris and Warsaw to signal how much he values these two European partners. He appeared to instantly forge a cordial understanding with Macron, but there were tensions with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk after Berlin introduced border controls with its neighbor to prevent illegal entry. Poland does not want to take back migrants and is also now controlling its border with Germany. The border issue was a "false start," said the DGAP's Henning Hoff. "Because symbolic migration policy was more important to him than European cohesion and good neighborly relations with Poland." At the press conference with Starmer in London, Merz emphasized that the tripartite cooperation was not exclusive: "We're always bearing in mind Poland, Italy and the other also smaller European partners in whatever decision we take," he said. Nevertheless, the journey that Merz, Starmer and Macron took together to Kyiv—without Tusk or Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni—was symbolic. And so far the new formula for security policy cooperation is E3, not E4 or E5.
Int'l Business Times
10 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Ukraine Proposes Fresh Peace Talks With Russia Next Week
Kyiv has proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks next week, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday, hours after Russian strikes across Ukraine claimed more lives. Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to result in any progress towards a ceasefire, instead yielding large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers. "Security Council Secretary Umerov... reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week," Zelensky said in his evening address. "The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up," he added. Zelensky reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sitdown with Putin. "A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace - lasting peace," he said. At talks last month, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands, including calls for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support. Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable and at the time questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow was not willing to make concessions. The Kremlin said earlier this month it was ready to continue talks with Ukraine after US President Donald Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal or face sanctions. Trump also pledged to supply Kyiv with new military aid, sponsored by NATO allies, as its cities suffer ever-increasing Russian aerial attacks. Russia has escalated long-range aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities as well as frontline assaults and shelling over recent months, defying Trump's warning. Most lately on Saturday, it had fired missile and drone strikes that killed three people across Ukraine. Two people died after a Russian missile hit Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub, into which Russia's forces have recently advanced. An earlier Russian salvo of 20 drones on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed at least one person overnight. Russia had to suspend trains for about four hours overnight, causing extensive delays in the southern Rostov region, when it came under a Ukrainian drone attack that wounded one railway worker. Moscow and Kyiv are menacing each other with swarms of cheap drones to overwhelm each other's air defence, as the warring sides said on Saturday they had intercepted hundreds of drones, now launched in large amounts almost daily. As part of the Istanbul agreements, Kyiv received 1,000 soldiers' bodies on Thursday, while Russia said it had received 19 from Ukraine. The European Union on Friday agreed an 18th package of sanctions on Moscow that targets Russian banks and lowers a price cap on oil exports, in a bid to curb its ability to fund the war. Russian salvo of 20 drones on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa kills at least one person AFP
Int'l Business Times
21 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Migrants Freed From El Salvador Reach Venezuela In US Prisoner Deal
Hundreds of Venezuelans swept up in President Donald Trump's immigration dragnet reached home Friday after their release from a maximum security Salvadoran jail as part of a prisoner swap with the United States. The 252 men were accused -- without evidence -- of being gang members and flown to the notorious CECOT "anti-terror" jail in March. There, they were shackled, shorn and paraded before cameras -- becoming emblematic of Trump's immigration crackdown and drawing howls of protest. On Friday, after months of legal challenges and political stonewalling, the men arrived at an airport near Caracas, with several walking down the steps with their arms raised and one even kissing the tarmac. The Trump administration said they were released in exchange for 10 Americans or US residents held in Venezuela, and "political prisoners," who number 80, according to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele. The migrants' return to Venezuela sparked tearful celebrations among family members who had heard nothing from them in months. "I don't have words to explain how I feel!" said Juan Yamarte. "My brother (Mervin) is back home, back in Venezuela." Mervin's mother told AFP she could not contain her happiness. "I arranged a party and I'm making a soup," she said. The men had been deported from the United States under rarely used wartime powers and denied court hearings. Exiled Salvadoran rights group Cristosal believes that just seven of the 252 men had criminal records. Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro thanked Trump for "the decision to rectify this totally irregular situation." The Americans and US residents released in Venezuela, whose identities have not been officially revealed, were taken to San Salvador on their way to the United States and appeared with Bukele and US hostage envoy Adam Boehler at a ceremony at the presidential palace. A video posted on X by Bukele shows the former detainees waving US flags as they descended from their aircraft. "It is hard to negotiate with a tyrannical regime really, but we were able to do it," Bukele said. "We have been in these negotiations trying to set (not just) you -- all of you -- free, but also 80 political prisoners from Venezuela." For his part, Boehler thanked Bukele for being "an unbelievable friend" to the United States. Families in the United States were also excited to see their loved ones return. One had been imprisoned for nearly a year. Global Reach, an NGO that works for wrongly detained Americans, said one of the men freed was 37-year-old Lucas Hunter, held since he was "kidnapped" by Venezuelan border guards while vacationing in Colombia in January. "We cannot wait to see him in person and help him recover from the ordeal," it quoted his younger sister Sophie Hunter as saying. Uruguay said one of its citizens, a resident in the United States, was among those liberated after nine months in Venezuelan detention. Another plane arrived at Maiquetia airport earlier Friday from Houston with 244 Venezuelans deported from the United States and seven children, who Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said had been "rescued from the kidnapping to which they were being subjected." The children were among 30 who Caracas says remained in the US after their Venezuelan parents were deported. Clamping down on migrants is a flagship pursuit of Trump's administration, which has ramped up raids and deportations. Washington has agreed with Maduro to send undocumented Venezuelans back home, and flights have been arriving near daily also from Mexico, where many got stuck trying to enter the United States. Official figures show that since February, more than 8,200 people have been repatriated to Venezuela from the United States and Mexico, including some 1,000 children. The Venezuelans detained in El Salvador had no right to phone calls or visits, and their relatives unsuccessfully requested proof of life. Bukele had CECOT built as part of his war on criminal gangs, but he agreed to receive millions of dollars from the United States to house the Venezuelans there. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have denounced the detentions. A photo released by the Salvadoran presidency of some of the men headed back home to Venezuela AFP There had been little to no news on the Venezuelan men's fate since the US deported them to El Salvador in March 2025 AFP The 252 men were accused -- without evidence -- of being gang members and flown to the notorious CECOT 'anti-terror' jail in March AFP
