Live updates on Trump's presidency: Administration seeks release of Epstein testimony

CNN

4 days ago

Update:
Date: 11 min ago
Title: Reporting roundup: Read some of CNN's latest stories on the Trump administration
Content:
While many of last week's headlines surrounded President Donald Trump's handling of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein case, it was a busy week elsewhere in the nation's capital.
Catch up on some of our latest stories as we head into a new week:
• School resources slashed: The Trump administration is seeking to dismantle the Education Department, with mass layoffs underway and severe funding cuts under consideration. The squeeze is already forcing summer programs to scramble to stay open as schools brace for deeper impacts in the fall.
• Venezuela prison swap: Ten US nationals have been freed by Venezuela in exchange for 252 Venezuelans who had been deported and imprisoned in El Salvador. Relatives of several deportees spoke to CNN.
• Gabbard's threat: Trump's spy chief, Tulsi Gabbard, has threatened to refer former Obama administration officials to the Justice Department over their assessment of Russia's 2016 election interference.
• Sculpture under fire: An art exhibition about race at the Smithsonian museum will go on display in the face of a Trump executive order to cut government spending on art unaligned with the administration's agenda.
Update:
Date: 26 min ago
Title: More than half of Americans say Trump has gone too far with deportations, CNN poll finds
Content:
Americans largely oppose recent efforts by Donald Trump's administration to scale up its deportation program, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds.
In the latest survey, 55% say the president has gone too far when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the US illegally, up 10 points since February.
Opposition among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents has risen in that time from widespread to nearly universal. Ninety percent of Democratic-aligned adults now say Trump's deportation policy has gone too far, while just 15% of Republican-aligned adults say the same.
Read more about the other findings of the survey here.
Update:
Date: 59 min ago
Title: Testimony sought by the Trump administration is just a fraction of the Epstein grand jury file, analyst says
Content:
As CNN has reported, President Donald Trump said on Friday he had asked the Justice Department to release all grand jury testimony in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
But any such testimony made behind closed doors is a 'minuscule fraction of the entire file,' CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said Friday, shortly after a federal judge was asked to make it public.
'It would not include phone records, flight records, video surveillance, anything that you seized by a search warrant, anything you got by a wiretap, bank records, financial records,' Honig said.
It is typically more common for witnesses to testify outside of a grand jury, to prosecutors or the FBI, for example, Honig explained.
Grand jury information is secret and contains confidential information. The government will have to argue to the judge that it qualifies for an exception to make it public.
Paula Reid, CNN's chief legal affairs correspondent, said the DOJ is arguing that this is an effort toward transparency and that releasing files on the disgraced financier is in the public interest.
'This is a long shot. The judge is going to have to take some time here, will likely have other stakeholders — victims, accusers — weigh in on the potential impact of this,' Reid said.
Keep in mind: The Justice Department moved to get the testimony released Friday after days of pressure, with the president's base agitated over his administration's chaotic handling of files related to the Epstein case.
Update:
Date: 1 hr 29 min ago
Title: Trump says "nothing will be good enough" for those demanding more information on Epstein case
Content:
President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post yesterday that 'nothing will be good enough' for those he deems 'troublemakers' and 'radical left lunatics' demanding more information on the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Trump's post came after days of turmoil surrounding his administration's handling of documents related to the disgraced financier, including rare criticism from the president's MAGA base. The Justice Department on Friday asked a judge to release years-old grand jury testimony made against Epstein, the convicted sex offender who faced sex trafficking and conspiracy charges before his 2019 death in jail.
'I have asked the Justice Department to release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval. With that being said, and even if the Court gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request. It will always be more, more, more,' Trump wrote yesterday morning.
In the Justice Department filing, Attorney General Pam Bondi said unsealing the transcripts would be justified by the public's 'longstanding and legitimate interest.' But it's ultimately up to a federal judge to decide.
Trump's weekend: The president is expected to remain in the Washington, DC, area and does not have public events scheduled this weekend.
He took private meetings yesterday afternoon at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, a White House official said. The official declined to share any details about the meetings.
CNN's Aleena Fayaz contributed to this report.
Update:
Date: 1 hr 29 min ago
Title: Catch up on a chaotic week in the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files
Content:
The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to release years-old grand jury testimony made against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as President Donald Trump fumes on social media over public demands to release the so-called Epstein files.
If you're just catching up on the saga, here's what to know:
• How we got here: The DOJ's move came after a week of outcry from the president's MAGA base over the administration's perceived backtracking on promises of maximum transparency regarding Epstein. The pressure campaign had been ramping up since the Justice Department said in a memo earlier this month that it wouldn't be releasing further documents on the case.
• Putting the request in context: Grand jury testimony made behind closed doors is a 'minuscule fraction of the entire file' from Epstein's case, according to CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig. And while Attorney General Pam Bondi argued in her request that releasing the material is in the public interest, it's ultimately the court's decision.
• Trump sues newspaper: Trump also announced Friday that he is suing the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and two reporters who wrote a story about a collection of letters gifted to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, including a note bearing Trump's name and an outline of a naked woman. The Journal report seemed to unite a set of skeptical MAGA influencers in defense of the president after the week's turmoil.
• More on the doodle: The president has emphatically denied writing the note and said he doesn't draw pictures. But a charity director told CNN she received two doodles from him in 2004 for an auction in Ohio.
• Read CNN analysis: With the renewed scrutiny surround Trump's relationship with Epstein, CNN identified five key questions that remain unanswered.