Jennifer McCabe spars with the defense during full day of testimony in Karen Read murder retrial
McCabe testified for hours and at times sparred with the defense as she recounted the morning that John O'Keefe's body was found on January 29, 2022.
McCabe says Read admitted to striking O'Keefe and showed damage to Lexus' taillight.
The prosecution alleges O'Keefe's body was on McCabe's sister's front lawn when McCabe left that home late at night.
McCabe testified that she never saw it.
Read attacked McCabe's credibility after listening to a full day of her testimony.
'Another witness, another instance of perjury. Or instances I should say,' Karen Read said outside court.
'I did not tell Jen to make a Google search,' Read said of McCabe's infamous 'hos long to die in cold' search on the morning of O'Keefe's death.
Read's lawyers have said that McCabe's search happened hours before O'Keefe was discovered, which could implicate her rather than Read. McCabe has said she made the search later at Read's insistence after they found O'Keefe.
Jurors listened to the 911 call McCabe made upon the discovery of O'Keefe's body.
'I need someone to come immediately to 34 Fairview Road Canton, Mass,' a recording of McCabe's voice played in court.
'What's going on?' a dispatcher replied.
'There's a guy unresponsive in the snow,' McCabe said.
McCabe said that Read announced that morning, 'I hit them! I hit them! I hit them!' McCabe testified that the memory was 'just as fresh today as it was three years ago.'
Defense attorney Alan Jackson challenged that and argued McCabe never mentioned that Read incriminated herself in previous testimony.
'Not one time. Miss McCabe, did you utter the phrase,' Jackson said.
'We found one of my closest friends on the front lawn, and she was saying crazy things and acting crazy,' McCabe replied.
McCabe also confirmed federal law enforcement agents came to her Canton home to question her in April 2023.
McCabe revealed she made five phone calls, including one to her brother-in-law Brian Abert, before agreeing to speak with the FBI, but initially she told agents she only made two; one to her husband Matt and another to Kerry Roberts.
'That would be a lie by definition,' Jackson pried.
'No, it's not a lie,' McCabe said
'Is there some shade of lie that I'm not aware of?' Jackson replied.
McCabe says it was an oversight and she reached out to the federal investigators by phone a short time later to tell them about the other calls.
As 25 Investigates has reported, the federal investigation closed months ago with no indictments.
McCabe also said she didn't hear any engine revving or yelling outside 34 Fairview at the time the prosecution says Read struck O'Keefe there.
There is no court on Thursday but McCabe will be back on the stand for a couple more hours on Friday.
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
GOP senators want nothing to do with Trump-Epstein-MAGA controversy
Senate Republicans are scrambling to steer clear of the controversy exploding within their MAGA-aligned party's base over allegations that the Trump administration is hiding information related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his 'clients.' President Trump is facing what may be the biggest backlash he's ever encountered from usually loyal activists, such as former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and prominent conservative activist Laura Loomer. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel are coming under tremendous pressure from MAGA activists to provide more information about the people who may have been involved in Epstein's alleged sex trafficking activities, even though the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI concluded in a memo that there is no 'incriminating 'client list.'' Republican lawmakers don't want to go near the Epstein controversy that divides their base. They already have their hands full responding to political attacks from Democrats on Trump's tariff policies and on the Medicaid spending cuts they passed into law this month, along with trillions of dollars in tax relief and new spending on border security and defense. 'I'll leave that up to DOJ and to the FBI. I think that's in their purview. I think the president's expressed his views on it and so I'll just leave it at that,' Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Monday. Trump pushed back on some of his most loyal supporters on Saturday and defended Bondi after MAGA-aligned activists took shots at her handling of the Epstein case and related files at a student action summit hosted by the activist group Turning Point USA in Tampa this weekend. 'For years, it's Epstein, over and over again,' Trump posted on Truth Social, implying that Democrats have pushed the clamor of Epstein's files. 'Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration,' he wrote, referring to former Presidents Obama and Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Monday that Bondi has done enough to provide transparency on what government investigators know about Epstein and his illicit activities. Asked if Bondi has been forthcoming enough with information, Grassley told The Hill: 'What I know now, yes.' 'With anything in government, I always urge the greatest of transparency,' he said. 'I'm not saying they're coming up short there but that's just a good principle of government as far as I'm concerned.' Asked if the Justice Department needs to provide more information about Epstein-related documents, Grassley said: 'I think I've said all I should say.' Conservative activists have zeroed in on Bondi's statement in February implying that the Epstein files were 'sitting on her desk.' The joint Justice Department-FBI memo stated that much of the Epstein-related material is 'subject to court-ordered sealing' and 'only a fraction of this material would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.' The Justice Department and FBI said there was 'no credible evidence' that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. And the memo dismissed theories that Epstein was murdered in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on Aug. 10, 2019, stating the finding that he committed suicide was supported by video footage. GOP lawmakers are ready to accept the administration's explanation of its handling of the issue, despite the uproar from the party's base. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee, said he's leaving the handling of all Epstein-related matters to Trump. Cornyn and other Republicans don't seem at all inclined to endorse activists' calls for Bondi to appoint a special counsel to investigate the alleged Epstein files. 'I trust the president to handle it the way he deems appropriate,' Cornyn said Monday. Trump has expressed his irritation with the relentless focus of some conservative social media influencers and activists on the possibility of a cover-up to protect wealthy and powerful figures who consorted with Epstein and the underage women he allegedly trafficked. The president expressed his disgust with the topic when a reporter asked him about Epstein at a July 8 Cabinet meeting. 'Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?' Trump asked, appearing annoyed by the question. 'This guy's been talked about for years,' he said. 'We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.' But Republican strategists are starting to acknowledge that dismissing the controversy and moving on to new topics isn't working for Trump, at least at the moment. 'I think this administration is definitely going to have some second thoughts about their strategy. Ultimately, they will have to put out more information. I just don't see how the current strategy is sustainable to say everything's out there and there are other issues that are more important. That's not a winning message and it's not a message that's going to go over well,' said Brian Darling, a Republican strategist and former Senate aide. 'I think the strategy has to change by the administration,' he added. Loomer, a prominent activist who seems to have Trump's ear on key executive-branch appointments, warned in a Saturday post on the social platform X that the 'lack of results at the DOJ and lack of transparency' could 'cost the GOP House and Senate seats.' 'Don't say I didn't warn you,' she warned. A Trump-aligned strategist who requested anonymity said that Trump's team would likely offer a 'half-measure' concession to prominent conservative influencers and activists in an attempt to tamp down the controversy. 'Various portions of the MAGA base kind of feel like this is a key item. It's really MAGA-specific. It's something that's being battled over more in the conservative media,' the strategist said. 'I think they're going to try to release as little as possible because there are all sorts of issues with this stuff, legally.' 'It's one of the rare things that I've seen where at least as of right now where the president takes a different position and MAGA doesn't fall right into line immediately. There's been a little pushback. Is it going to cost seats? I don't know,' the source added. 'Bondi overpromised and underdelivered. It's an unforced error,' the strategist argued. Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law, told conservative influencer Benny Johnson in an interview Monday that the administration would release more information related to Epstein's alleged crimes. 'There needs to be more transparency. I think that will happen. I know this is important to the president. He is frustrated,' Trump told Johnson. 'He is going to want to set things right. I believe there will be more coming and anything they are able to release they will try to get out. They hear it and understand it,' she added. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who has been outspoken about shedding more light on Epstein's criminal activities, said last week that she hoped to 'uncover' more information. 'For years, I have fought to expose the business associates of Jeffrey Epstein and those who were bankrolling his trafficking ring,' she said in a social media post last week after the Justice Department and FBI released their joint memo. 'Human trafficking generates more than $150 billion a year in profits, and I remain committed to breaking apart the human trafficking rings that ensnare innocent victims in modern-day slavery. I'm hopeful we can still uncover this information from the financial records to assist law enforcement in locking up vile criminals,' she said.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
It's Time for Pam Bondi To Go
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino—all three are caught up in an internal feud over the now-you-see-them-now- you-don't files of the felonious financier, Jeffrey Epstein. But Pam Bondi is ultimately responsible. Her botched handling of this issue combined with her other disasters mean she shouldn't continue holding the highest law enforcement position in the United States. Bondi has racked up a string of embarrassments for the president that, despite a supportive post, President Donald Trump won't endure long. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 8, 2025. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 8, 2025. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images First of all, DOJ has done a disastrous job defending the administration in court, winning just 31 percent of the time. If the first duty of the department is to win court cases, Bondi's leadership has a record of failure that is probably worse than any attorney general in DOJ history. Meanwhile, Bondi embarrassed the Trump administration by boasting about things she plainly didn't achieve. After just a few months on the job, Bondi claimed her anti-fentanyl operations saved 258 million lives—a number that is roughly three-quarters of the entire U.S. population. She boasted that she would end weaponization at the Justice Department then used her power to fire dozens of non-partisan career employees to settle scores with whomever she chose. Another batch was just terminated last week. She claimed about her prosecution of Kilmer Abrego Garcia that, "This is what American justice looks like," just before the case was exposed as a sham in court. She is fighting a whistleblower accusing DOJ of planning to break the law intentionally when faced with court orders. She is facing serious ethics complaints in Florida filed by over 70 people, including lawyers, law professors, and retired judges that accuse her of firing employees who refused to engage in unethical conduct. And she promised us the Epstein client list. Now her lies about it are turning President Donald Trump's own base against him. The facts are already well known and have been highlighted by Fox News, where Bondi was once a regular commentator. In February, the attorney general was asked a very specific question and gave a very specific answer on video: "DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen?" Her response was crystal clear: "It's sitting on my desk right now." Now, pay close attention to what the official Justice Department memo said as Bondi ended her much bragged about transparency regarding Epstein: investigators found "no incriminating 'client list.'" The memo didn't say there was no Epstein client list. It said there was no "incriminating" client list. It was the classic lawyer's dodge. Insert a word that you can define yourself—"It didn't look 'incriminating' to me"—and now you can sound like a list that exists doesn't really exist at all. But remember, it's an "incriminating" list that doesn't exist, not a list. This is the lie inside the lie. And Bondi is compounding it. She is allowing the public impression that there is no list at all—"incriminating" or otherwise. She said that when she referred to the list she meant the file. Bondi's credibility is shot at a time when DOJ's ability to defend the country and the administration are at a critical juncture. Many of the key issues concerning Trump's power have yet to come before the Supreme Court. Can Trump end birthright citizenship? Can Trump invoke the Alien Enemies Act to assist in speeding up his deportations? Can he cancel spending mandated by Congress? Will he be able to make all the independent agencies created by Congress dependent on him instead. Should the incompetently crafted Abrego Garcia case be withdrawn so he can be deported? This is no time to have an incompetent hand at the helm. It's also no time for internal squabbling. If the attorney general can't work with the FBI leadership, we are all in trouble, yet the deputy FBI director is headed for the exit, and the director might not survive if Bondi does. Bondi is chiefly tormented about leaks rather than trying to mend fences. It's time for Bondi to get out before she is shoved out. American law enforcement needs more bang and less bunk. Thomas G. Moukawsher is a former Connecticut complex litigation judge and a former co-chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Employee Benefits. He is the author of the book, The Common Flaw: Needless Complexity in the Courts and 50 Ways to Reduce It. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Evan Perez breaks down the beef between Bongino and Bondi
Deputy FBI director Dan Bongino did not go into the office Friday and largely excommunicated himself from most of his colleagues after a major fallout with Attorney General Pam Bondi. CNN's Evan Perez breaks down the situation and how it began over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
