Republican Speaker Johnson retreats on demand for Epstein disclosures, saying Trump needs ‘space'
WASHINGTON – US House Speaker Mike Johnson said on July 21 that he would not hold a House vote this summer on whether the Justice Department should
release files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, retreating from his demand last week that the material must come out.
Reacting to intense pressure from the angry Maga base, Mr Johnson had on July 15 showed a rare glimpse of daylight between himself and Mr Trump, who was imploring his supporters to move on from the matter.
'We should put everything out there and let the people decide,' Mr Johnson had said on 'The Benny Show' when asked about the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein. 'I agree with the sentiment that we need to – we need to put it out there.'
The Rules Committee, a powerful panel controlled by the speaker, had even approved a measure that would bring to the floor a resolution calling for the disclosures, though Republicans gave no timetable for voting on it.
Less than a week later, the speaker reverted to his more familiar posture of deferring to the president.
'We need the administration to have the space to do what it is doing,' Mr Johnson told reporters at the Capitol on July 21 when asked about holding a House vote on releasing the investigative files.
'If further congressional action is necessary or appropriate, then we'll look at that,' Mr Johnson said.
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But he added that there would be no vote on the Epstein files before the House departs on July 24 for a six-week summer break, saying, 'I don't think we're at that point yet, because we agree with the president.'
Mr Johnson was able to obtain his gavel and has been able to keep it because of his unshakable loyalty to Mr Trump. His initial call for the release of the Epstein files when Mr Trump was asking for the opposite underscored how the case had created an unusual and deep split between the president and his supporters.
But the speaker's reversal suggests that Mr Trump's efforts to quell the unrest in his political base over the matter may be succeeding.
Mr Johnson implied that his concerns about transparency had been alleviated, for now, by Mr Trump's move to authorise attorney-general Pam Bondi to seek the public release of grand jury testimony from the prosecution of Epstein.
That is a far cry from the breadth of information the president's supporters have demanded, yet it appeared to be enough to persuade the speaker.
'There is no daylight between the House Republicans, the House and the president on maximum transparency,' Mr Johnson said on July 21. 'He has asked the attorney-general to request the grand jury files of the court; all of that is in process.'
It remains to be seen whether Mr Trump will be able to appease his supporters by selectively releasing material. But Mr Johnson's quick turnaround indicated that he intends to slow walk, or stymie, a floor vote that could potentially damage Mr Trump.
Still, Mr Johnson cannot control all of his members, some of whom are still channeling the angry base and have joined a long-shot bipartisan push to force a vote on the matter within weeks.
'If you tell the base of people, who support you, of deep state treasonous crimes, election interference, blackmail and rich powerful elite evil cabals, then you must take down every enemy of The People,' representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on social media on July 21. 'If not. The base will turn and there's no going back. Dangling bits of red meat no longer satisfies. They want the whole steak dinner and will accept nothing else.' NYTIMES
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AsiaOne
2 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Trump administration asks judges to release Epstein, Maxwell grand jury transcripts, World News
NEW YORK — Donald Trump's administration urged two judges on Tuesday (July 29) night to release testimony heard by the grand juries that indicted the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges as the president seeks to calm an uproar over his administration's handling of the matter. The Justice Department first sought court permission on July 18 to make public transcripts of the confidential testimony given by witnesses years ago in the two cases, but Manhattan-based US District Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer asked the government to flesh out the legal bases for the requests. In a pair of court filings just before midnight, prosecutors said unsealing the materials would be appropriate given the "abundant public interest" in the Epstein case and persistent scrutiny of how it was handled by federal law enforcement. The Epstein case has been at the centre of conspiracy theories for years. Trump has faced pressure in recent months to make public documents from the federal investigations into Epstein and Maxwell. Epstein hanged himself in jail in 2019, an autopsy concluded, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges brought by federal prosecutors. He had pleaded not guilty. Maxwell, Epstein's longtime girlfriend, was convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking charges and is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida. Maxwell had pleaded not guilty and is now asking the US Supreme Court to overturn her conviction. Trump said this month he had asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of grand jury transcripts in the two cases. The president did so after the Justice Department said it concluded that Epstein died by suicide and that there was no incriminating list of his clients. The Justice Department's announcement angered some of Trump's conservative supporters who believe the government is covering up Epstein's ties to the rich and powerful and that the financier was murdered in jail. Grand juries are convened by prosecutors and meet in secret to hear witness testimony and decide whether to indict people suspected of crimes. Records of their proceedings usually remain sealed. There are only limited circumstances under which such transcripts can be disclosed. Even if one or both of the judges allow the transcripts to be made public, it is not clear whether the public would learn anything new or noteworthy. Maxwell's four-week trial in 2021 included public testimony from alleged sex trafficking victims, associates of Epstein and Maxwell, and law enforcement officers. The transcripts also would not represent all the previously unreleased material in the government's possession. Investigators and prosecutors may pursue leads that they cannot substantiate or interview potential witnesses whom they do not ultimately call to testify before a grand jury. US District Judge Robin Rosenberg in Florida on July 23 denied the administration's request to unseal records from grand jury investigations in 2005 and 2007 in that state into Epstein. The judge found that the request did not fall into any of the limited exceptions that may allow for the release of such material. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to a prostitution charge brought under Florida law and was given a 13-month sentence in a deal with prosecutors now widely regarded as too lenient. Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, last week met with Maxwell for two days to see if she had any information about others who had committed crimes. Maxwell's lawyer David Markus and Blanche have not provided detailed accounts of their discussions. [[nid:720547]]
Business Times
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- Business Times
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US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick described Japan as 'the banker', with a White House fact sheet saying that Japan would invest as 'directed by the United States to rebuild and expand core American industries'. The Japanese document instead said Japan pledged 'up to' US$550 billion – and not the precise figure. The US would be assured 90 per cent of profits and Japan, 10 per cent, 'proportionate to their respective financing contributions and risk burdens'. And rather than Japan taking orders from the US, Mr Akazawa stressed that the government-linked Japan Bank for International Cooperation would strictly review the projects that it would finance. He added that between 1 and 2 per cent would be actual investment, with the remainder funded by loans or loan guarantees. 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As Mr Trump turned up the heat on Japan over alleged market barriers in cars and rice , the US could score headlines by playing up Japan's compromises. Japan agreed to allow US cars to be imported without the need for additional safety tests, and review subsidies to promote electric vehicles. It also promised to buy more US rice within the tariff-free import quota of 770,000 tonnes. The deal gave Mr Ishiba a policy victory, as he had long described the tariffs as a 'national crisis'. While the 15 per cent rate was still markedly higher than before Mr Trump announced sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs, the glass-half-full view of the July 22 deal was how low it was compared with other countries, with Mr Trump unlikely to exempt any country or region from these 'reciprocal' tariffs. 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