Epstein, everywhere, all at once

Politico

3 days ago

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THE CATCH-UP
The Jeffrey Epstein news cycle is nonstop today in Washington.
AT THE WHITE HOUSE: 'President Donald Trump on Tuesday attempted to shift the public's focus away from the building crisis around the release of sealed documents detailing the Jeffrey Epstein case by urging his Justice Department to go after his predecessors,' POLITICO's Eli Stokols reports.
'I don't really follow that too much. It's sort of a witch hunt,' Trump said of the Epstein story as he took questions alongside Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Oval Office. 'The witch hunt you should be talking about is that they caught President [Barack] Obama absolutely cold.'
He continued: 'Whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people,' Trump said, baselessly accusing Obama of 'treason.'
AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: This morning, the DOJ announced it hopes to meet with Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell to see if she has 'information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims,' deputy AG Todd Blanche said in a lengthy statement posted on AG Pam Bondi's X account. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for child sex trafficking and other crimes.
Said Blanche: 'I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days. Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. That changes now.'
From Maxwell's legal team: 'We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case,' David Oscar Markus, an attorney for Maxwell, said in a post on X — which will do little to erase suspicions that Maxwell is ultimately angling for a pardon or commutation from Trump. More from Josh Gerstein and our POLITICO colleagues
ON CAPITOL HILL: House Speaker Mike Johnson has canceled Thursday's scheduled votes 'after Republicans lost control of the floor over bipartisan pressure to vote on releasing Epstein-related documents,' POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill reports, effectively punting lawmakers into August recess earlier than expected. Though House committees will keep working through the week, floor votes have wrapped until lawmakers return on September 2.
Teeing up: The House Oversight Committee is also expected to subpoena Maxwell for testimony after returning from recess, CNN's Manu Raju reports.
Whiplash: The vote cancellation is a bit of a 180 for Republican leaders, who told reporters last night they planned to stay in session through Thursday. 'We're not sending anybody home,' Johnson said at the time.
Speaking Southern: In his weekly press conference, Johnson vented some frustration with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of the voices leading the efforts to force a vote on the Epstein files via a discharge petition. 'I try to follow Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment: never speak evil of another Republican,' Johnson said when asked about Massie. 'So let me just say about Thomas Massie, could you just accept my Southern, 'Bless his heart.''
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6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. FED UP: In his remarks in the Oval Office earlier today, Trump again tore into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over both interest rates (which the president said should be set at 1 percent) and the hefty $2.5 billion cost of the renovations to the Fed's headquarters. White House deputy chief of staff James Blair said this morning that officials from the administration expect to visit the Fed on Thursday to tour the building. More from POLITICO's Sam Sutton
Meanwhile, on the Hill: 'While Republican senators are largely downplaying the prospects that Trump might seek to remove Powell over the renovation, the chair of the House Financial Services Committee's oversight subpanel told Semafor on Monday night that he's weighing his own probe of the Fed,' Semafor's Eleanor Mueller and Burgess Everett report. ''I'm going to talk to [Chair] French Hill and see,' said Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., adding that committee Republicans had discussed the project 'anecdotally.''
2. GAO GOING GONE?: The Government Accountability Office 'has opened dozens of investigations to determine if President Trump and his top aides have illegally withheld billions of dollars in congressionally approved funds,' NYT's Tony Romm writes. 'Now, Republican lawmakers are working alongside the White House to stymie those inquiries and the officials conducting them, in a move that could help Mr. Trump seize more control over the nation's budget.'
But the GAO is (reluctantly) bracing for a fight: Under existing law, it can sue 'to force a president to release illegally withheld funds,' and the office 'said in May it would retain outside counsel that could assist in litigation.' But Gene Dodaro, the comptroller general in charge of the GAO, told the Times that that the watchdog is 'not itching to go to court,' and that 'no decisions' have been made regarding a potential lawsuit.
3. RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the country will hold another round of peace talks with Russia starting tomorrow in Istanbul amid rising tensions between the Kremlin and the West, Semafor's Jeronimo Gonzalez reports. Earlier rounds of negotiations in Istanbul led to a large-scale prisoner swap, but precious little progress toward an actual ceasefire deal.
Adjust your expectations: 'We don't have any reason to hope for some miraculous breakthroughs,' Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters today. '[It's] hardly possible in the current situation.'
4. DEEP IN THE HEART: Though a special session of the Texas state legislature is in full swing this week — with Republicans hoping to draw new congressional lines to eke out five new GOP seats and pad their national House majority — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott 'was initially resistant' to the White House's push to do a mid-cycle redistricting, worrying that 'it would pit him against' the state's GOP delegation, which is lukewarm on drawing new boundaries, the Texas Tribune's Owen Dahlkamp reports.
How it went down: Ultimately, Trump had to call the governor himself to get him on board. Trump also contacted Texas GOP members to declare his intentions to flip seats. And despite looming fears among lawmakers that this could backfire for the GOP, the message was received loud and clear by the members: 'there was no stopping the president and they should get on board.'
5. AMERICA AND THE WORLD: 'The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will once again withdraw from the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO, an expected move that has the U.S. further retreating from international organizations,' AP's Samuel Petrequin and Farnoush Amiri report. It comes two years after the U.S. rejoined the group following the first Trump administration pulled out in 2018, accusing the group of an anti-Israel bias. The latest exit, according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, is due to the group's mission to 'advance divisive social and cultural causes.'
How it's landing: 'Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, said in a statement that she 'deeply regrets' the decision, which will take effect in December 2026,' POLITICO's Nicole Markus adds. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron voiced his '[u]nwavering support for UNESCO, a universal guardian of science, the Ocean, education, culture, and world heritage. The withdrawal of the United States will not weaken our commitment alongside those who lead this fight.'
6. SAFETY FIRST: 'House lawmakers are getting a boost to funds they can use for their own security, including at their homes,' POLITICO's Katherine Tully-McManus and Nicholas Wu report. 'The updated framework will double funding for residential security to $20,000 per member to 'allow for a more comprehensive suite of security equipment to be installed at their residences,' according to a memo distributed to lawmakers. Members will be able to put $10,000 toward physical upgrades to their residence for security purposes under an existing program.'
TALK OF THE TOWN
Eleanor Holmes Norton is (once again) telling reporters she's running for reelection.
Some House Republicans are proposing to fund the Kennedy Center only if they rename their storied opera house after Melania Trump, per POLITICO's Andrews Picon.
MEDIA MOVES — Dave Jorgenson, the Washington Post's TikTok and social media star, is leaving to launch his own video company, NYT's Benjamin Mullin scoops. WP Ventures head Krissah Thompson is also leaving the newsroom, per Mullin. … COURIER Newsroom has recently added Mariela Rosario as managing director for states, Kevin Dreyfuss as managing director for national, Jennifer Mandelblatt as chief of staff, Tracy Leeds Kaplan as SVP of distribution and sales, Jimmie Yoo as VP of technology, Michael Dabbs as VP of underwriting partnerships and Mitali Modi as national opinions editor. … Tim Carter will be EP for political video at Bloomberg TV. He previously was EP at CNN and is an MSNBC alum.
TRANSITION — Ben Friedmann is now VP of external affairs at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. He previously was deputy assistant secretary of state for global public affairs in the first Trump administration and is a RGA, NRSC and Google alum.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Layla Zaidane, president and CEO of Future Caucus, and Max Sinsheimer, literary agent, recently welcomed Isabella 'Izzy' Zaidane Sinsheimer.
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Correction: Yesterday's Playbook PM misspelled Kristin Lord's name.