CTV National News: Trump orders Bondi to produce testimony in Epstein case
U.S. President Trump has ordered the release of 'pertinent' grand jury testimony in relation to Jeffrey Epstein following a Wall Street Journal report.
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Global News
2 minutes ago
- Global News
Trump threatens lawsuit as WSJ reveals ‘bawdy' 2003 letter to Epstein
U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to sue the Wall Street Journal after the publication revealed details of a 'bawdy' note it says was written by Trump, alongside a lewd sketch of a naked woman, to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday. Trump promised the lawsuit after the WSJ described a suggestive letter it contends included the president's name as part of a 2003 album created by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein. Trump denied the note was of his creation and, according to the WSJ, said the letter was 'a fake thing.' 'I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women,' he added. 'It's not my language. It's not my words.' 'I'm gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else.' Story continues below advertisement The WSJ said the note bore Trump's signature and contained 'several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker.' 'A pair of small arcs denotes the woman's breasts,' it says, with the president's signature written in a 'squiggly' font below her waist and a final line that reads: 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.' View image in full screen Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Fla,. 1997. Davidoff Studios / Getty Images Trump and Epstein were friends throughout the 90s and early 2000s, according to the WSJ article, and socialized both casually and professionally, including at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy In 2002, the future president told New York Magazine he had known Epstein for 15 years. 'He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it—Jeffrey enjoys his social life,' Trump told the outlet. Story continues below advertisement The pair fell out over an alleged business dispute in 2004, and before Epstein pleaded guilty to a 2008 charge for procuring prostitution. In a Truth Social post on Thursday night, Trump reiterated his pledge to pursue legal action against the Rupert Murdoch-owned paper. 'The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein. These are not my words, not the way I talk,' he wrote. 'Also, I don't draw pictures. 'I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn't print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I'm going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DJT.' View image in full screen President Donald Trump answers questions while departing the White House on July 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Win McNamee / Getty Images News of the letter broke after Trump targeted his own supporters pushing for the release of the Epstein files, saying they were 'weaklings' for demanding to see the documents and attempted to place blame on Democrats, who he claimed created the Epstein files narrative as a 'hoax.' Story continues below advertisement The president spent years building political support from those who have stoked claims of a cover-up of Epstein's 2019 death, which conspiracists claimed was ruled a suicide to protect the former financier's wealthy friends from incrimination. Thursday's revelation — coupled with frustration from Trump-allied lawmakers on Capitol Hill — pushed Trump to abruptly reverse course and direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to try to make some of the documents in the case public. Bondi said she would seek court permission Friday to release grand jury information, but it would require a judge's approval, and she and Trump were silent on the additional evidence collected by federal law enforcement in the sprawling investigation that Bondi last week announced she would not release. — with files from The Associated Press
Winnipeg Free Press
2 minutes ago
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President Donald Trump will sign a new cryptocurrency bill into law on Friday
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday will sign into law a new set of regulations for a type of cryptocurrency that are seen as a way to legitimize the burgeoning industry. The GENIUS Act sets initial guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that is tied to a stable asset like the U.S. dollar to reduce price volatility. It passed both the House and Senate with wide bipartisan margins. The measure is meant to bolster consumer confidence in the rapidly growing crypto sector. Its passage comes as Trump makes it a mission to make the U.S. the 'crypto capital of the world.' 'Congratulations to our GREAT REPUBLICANS for being able to accomplish so much, a record, in so short a period of time,' Trump wrote on his social media site Friday morning as he announced the bill signing. The House also passed two other bills Thursday that are meant to boost the legitimacy of the crypto industry. One creates a new market structure for cryptocurrency, and the other bans the Federal Reserve from issuing a new digital currency. Both measures now go to the Senate.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 minutes ago
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Trump's firing of 2 Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission was unconstitutional, judge rules
A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump illegally fired two Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year in his efforts to exert control over independent agencies across the government. One of the commissioners, Alvaro Bedoya, resigned after suing to challenge the firings. The other plaintiff, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, can now resume her duties as commissioner because Trump lacks the constitutional authority to remove her, the judge ruled Thursday. Attorneys for the Trump administration almost immediately declared their intent to appeal. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan cited decades of legal precedent in her written opinion, including a 1935 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found a similar attempt by President Franklin D. Roosevelt was unlawful because commissioners could be removed only for cause, not at the president's whim. She said her ruling would uphold 'clearly established law that has been enacted by a coequal branch of government, reaffirmed by another coequal branch, and acquiesced to by thirteen executives over the course of ninety years.' Trump fired the commission's two Democratic members in March. The FTC is a regulator created by Congress that enforces consumer protection measures and antitrust legislation. Its seats typically include three members of the president's party and two from the opposing party. Commissioners Bedoya and Slaughter said they'd been dismissed illegally and immediately promised to sue. Bedoya later submitted his resignation in June. Slaughter has four years left in her term as commissioner. 'As the Court recognized today, the law is clear, and I look forward to getting back to work,' Slaughter said in a statement Thursday. During a May court hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., plaintiffs' attorneys warned against granting the president 'absolute removal power over any executive officer,' saying it would effectively eliminate an important check on his power. 'That has never been the case in this country,' said attorney Aaron Crowell. 'That's not the law. That has never been the law.' But attorneys for the Trump administration argued that the FTC's role has expanded since the 1930s, and as such, its members should answer directly to the president. 'The president should be able to remove someone who is actively blocking his policies, for example,' Department of Justice attorney Emily Hall said during the hearing. AliKhan, who was nominated to the federal bench by President Joe Biden in 2023, noted the long line of presidents before Trump who didn't try to push the limits. Commissioners are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They serve seven-year terms that are staggered to prevent multiple vacancies at once. They can be fired for displaying specific bad behaviors, including inefficiency, neglect of duty and malfeasance in office. Trump told Bedoya and Slaughter that he was dismissing them because their service on the commission was inconsistent with his administration's priorities, according to the lawsuit. In its 1935 decision, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the president couldn't fire leaders of independent agencies without cause. Otherwise, the agencies would become more political and less independent. While that restriction was eroded in a subsequent decision that came in 2020, it has largely remained in place. The case, known as Humphrey's Executor has been central to a number of court challenges against the Trump administration's personnel moves targeting boards and government executives. The legal fight over the firings could have consequences for other independent agencies, including the Federal Reserve, an institution that has long sought to protect its independence. Economists and financial markets broadly support an independent Fed because they worry a politicized version would be more reluctant to take unpopular steps to fight inflation, such as raise interest rates. Plaintiffs argue that a politicized FTC could also favor powerful corporations while driving up prices for consumers. Attorney Amit Agarwal said the case isn't just about his clients keeping their jobs. He said it's about protecting 'the will of the American people' and their right to have independent agencies working on their behalf. 'America is already suffering from an excess of executive power, and the last thing we need is to hand vast new powers to the president over Congress's explicit and longstanding objection,' Agarwal said in a statement responding to the ruling, adding that 'if Trump wants even more power, he should ask the people's elected representatives in Congress, not unelected and politically unaccountable courts.'
