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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Republicans and Democrats call for more information on Epstein case
Trump and many of his allies vowed to release a trove of files in the case, including a so-called 'client list' that many involved in the case insist never existed. But the release of some documents earlier this year offered no new revelations. And the Justice Department said this month that it had closed the case and would not release more documents, concluding that there was no client list. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up One of Epstein's former lawyers, Alan Dershowitz, said in an interview on 'Fox News Sunday' that the grand jury testimony was unlikely to contain the information that has most interested Trump's supporters. Advertisement Trump has encouraged his base to move on. But the backlash seemed to be on his mind Sunday morning, when he accused 'Radical Left Democrats' of exposing the 'Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.' Burchett also took up Trump's argument Sunday, saying that Democrats had the chance to release the materials when former president Joe Biden was in office. Advertisement At the same time, Burchett is one of 10 Republicans who have signed on to an effort to force a vote on whether the administration should release the files. The procedural maneuver would require a majority of House members, and Burchett said he was not sure if it would succeed. 'I have no earthly idea,' he said on CNN. 'You know this town buries secrets.' Democrats in Congress have seized on the divide that has opened up between Trump and his supporters, trying to force votes on measures that call for the release of Epstein-related files and pressing for hearings. They have rejected Trump's efforts to redirect the blame to them. 'The president blaming Democrats for this disaster, Jake, is like that CEO that got caught on camera blaming Coldplay,' said Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, to CNN's Jake Tapper, referring to a viral video that showed the married CEO of a tech company with his arms around a woman who is not his wife. Klobuchar, instead blamed the public's clamoring for the files on right-wing politicians, including Trump, who she said had sown distrust in federal prosecutors over the case. 'People have a reason that they want to know what's in there,' Klobuchar said. 'They believe the president when he said there's stuff in there that people should see.' Several former federal prosecutors told the Associated Press that the Justice Department request to unseal grand jury transcripts in the prosecutions of Epstein and his former girlfriend, imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is unlikely to produce much, if anything, to satisfy the public's appetite for new revelations about the financier's crimes. Advertisement Attorney Sarah Krissoff, an assistant US attorney in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, called the request 'a distraction.' 'The president is trying to present himself as if he's doing something here and it really is nothing,' Krissoff told the Associated Press in a weekend interview. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche made the request Friday, asking judges to unseal transcripts from grand jury proceedings that resulted in indictments against Epstein and Maxwell, saying 'transparency to the American public is of the utmost importance to this Administration.' Krissoff and Joshua Naftalis, a Manhattan federal prosecutor for 11 years before entering private practice in 2023, said grand jury presentations are purposely brief. Naftalis said Southern District prosecutors present just enough to a grand jury to get an indictment but 'it's not going to be everything the FBI and investigators have figured out about Maxwell and Epstein.' 'People want the entire file from however long. That's just not what this is,' he said, estimating that the transcripts, at most, probably amount to a few hundred pages. 'It's not going to be much,' Krissoff said, estimating the length at as little as 60 pages 'because the Southern District of New York's practice is to put as little information as possible into the grand jury.' 'They basically spoon feed the indictment to the grand jury. That's what we're going to see,' she said. 'I just think it's not going to be that interesting. ... I don't think it's going to be anything new.' This article originally appeared in
The Hill
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
House Democrat: ‘Mamdani isn't speaking for our party'
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said on Sunday that New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, 'isn't speaking for our party,' though Smith stressed the 'big tent' nature of the party's coalition. 'Look, the mayor of New York has never, never, ever been the leader of the Democratic Party,' Smith said in an interview on 'Fox News Sunday,' when asked for his thoughts on the assemblyman, who was declared the winner of the city's Democratic mayoral primary on July 1. On whether he's worried about the 'optics' of Mamdani speaking for the party, Smith pushed back. 'Mamdani isn't speaking for our party, any more than I'm speaking for our party. It's a big tent. It's a big coalition,' the Washington Democrat said. 'Yes, Fox News wants to focus on that, but let's focus on the fact that [President] Trump is now underwater on immigration. Why? Because in addition to that $3.5 trillion deficit, sorry, add to the debt, mainly because of tax cuts, he's now spending 170 billion more dollars on ICE,' he continued, referring to Republican's 'big, beautiful bill,' which Trump signed on July 4. 'He says he has secured the border. He's spending all this money now on going around and terrorizing communities with high-profile ICE raids, which are not effective, which has turned people against him on immigration,' Smith added. He encouraged Democrats to stay on message. 'We, Democrats, have a message, and we have a message to deliver. And I'll tell you this. The mayor of New York, no matter who he is, is not going to be the leader of our party. And we still need to stay focused on those issues,' he said.
Express Tribune
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
US officials defend immigration raid tactics
US President Donald Trump's top immigration officials on Sunday defended the use of aggressive snatch and detain tactics by masked and armed federal agents, days after a federal judge ruled that arrests were being made "based upon race alone." Trump's border czar Tom Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the administration's case on the Sunday talk shows, just a day after a farm worker died in California after being injured in a raid on a legal cannabis farm. On Friday, District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered a halt to "roving patrols" targeting suspected undocumented migrants in Los Angeles, saying a person's race, language or workplace was not sufficient justification. "Physical description cannot be the sole reason to detain and question somebody," Homan said on CNN's "State of the Union," adding: "It's a myriad of factors." But he acknowledged that appearance was one of those factors, and said there were sometimes "collateral arrests" of innocent people in targeted raids. He said the administration would comply with the judge's decision but fight it on appeal. Noem called the judge's ruling "ridiculous" and slammed what she called the "political" nature of the decision. "We always built our operations, our investigations on case work, on knowing individuals that we needed to target because they were criminals," Noem said on "Fox News Sunday." Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants, has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportations and reducing border crossings. On Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided a cannabis farm in Ventura County outside Los Angeles. About 200 migrants were detained and clashes erupted with protesters.
The Hill
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Chip Roy on Texas flooding: ‘Real story' is ‘heroism of those who showed up' to help
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said Sunday the 'real story' of the deadly flooding in Texas is the 'heroism of those who showed up' to help, as opposed to who's to blame. 'I think the real story is not all the finger-pointing that the media wants to point to. It's the heroism of those who showed up like Ian there with the Coast Guard, who I was standing next to when we met with the president, talking about his feelings as a dad,' Roy told anchor Shannon Bream on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'There was another young man in the Coast Guard talking about how he keeps Jolly Ranchers in his pocket, and he was handing Jolly Ranchers to the little girls that were on the helicopter with him,' he added. 'It's the heroism of all of the first responders in Kerrville.' Roy added later that as you drive into Kerrville, which was at the center of the flooding, there's a large cross on a hill. 'And if you ask me what the story of this whole tragedy is, it's the cross. And it's the power of the cross,' he said. At least 129 people were killed in flooding that began on July 4 along the Guadalupe River in central Texas, with about 170 people still missing as search operations stretch into a second week. Federal, state and local officials have faced questions about why early warning systems were not installed in known flood zones, and why a summer camp was allowed to expand in a dangerous flood plain. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has denied reports that federal aid to Texas was delayed due to a new rule requiring her sign-off on all Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants or contracts worth more than $100,000. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) used a football analogy to criticize those seeking to assign blame for the tragedy, drawing criticism from Democrats. 'Every football team makes mistakes,' Abbott said. 'The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who is to blame. The championship teams are the ones that say 'Don't worry about it, man. We got this. We're going to make sure that we go score again and then we're going to win this game.'' President Trump and first lady Melania Trump went to Texas Hill Country earlier this week. 'I've been to a lot of hurricanes and tornadoes and I've never seen anything like this,' Trump said at a roundtable featuring local, state and federal officials after touring the area. Trump has also commended Noem over the federal response to the Texas floods, while the administration has changed its tune on terminating FEMA entirely after the disaster. Noem said Sunday her department was on the ground in Texas almost immediately after the flooding began. 'Within just an hour or two after the flooding, we had resources from the Department of Homeland Security there, helping those individuals in Texas,' she said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'It was a heartbreaking scene. And I think it's been well covered about what the Coast Guard did, how they were deployed immediately and helped rescue so many individuals from those floodwaters.'
The Hill
12-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Sunday shows preview: Trump shifts tone on FEMA after Texas floods; Epstein files divide MAGA
The Trump administration has changed its tune on federal funding for disasters following the Texas floods that swept through Kerr County. GOP lawmakers took turns touring the damage in surrounding communities after the Guadalupe River's waters swelled far beyond its capacity, leaving cars overturned and leading to at least 166 missing people. Officials said at least 129 people died from the flash floods. Amid requests to alter the Lone Star state's response systems were broader calls to restructure the Federal Emergency Response Agency (FEMA) to better suit natural disaster recovery efforts across the country. Trump officials have backed the effort, promising to issue cost-effective measures for federally funded disaster relief — a sharp change in tune from previous statements proposing that the Trump administration would shutter the agency. 'Federal Emergency Management will shift from bloated, D.C.-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens. The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades,' Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, told The Hill. 'Under [Homeland Security] Secretary Noem's leadership, the FEMA Review Council is developing a comprehensive plan for necessary change,' she added. Earlier this year, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Trump wants 'to see FEMA eliminated as it exists today,' while the president later mentioned the changes would include giving out 'less money.' She will likely defend the White House's approach to reshuffling FEMA during appearances on Fox News' 'Fox News Sunday' and NBC's 'Meet the Press.' Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will likely discuss how to revamp the agency to be more efficient and effective during a Sunday appearance on ABC's 'This Week.' Criswell resigned from her post in January after being scrutinized for response efforts during Hurricanes Helene and Milton. A month later, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) requested $40 billion in assistance to aid recovery efforts for the Golden State's sweeping wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Newsom and Trump stood off in a heated debate regarding the wildfires and funding to address them. Pete Gaynor, another former FEMA Administrator, will also discuss how to better address the nation's natural emergencies during his appearance on ABC's 'This Week.' While agency appointees uncover methods for unexpected weather, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced that she will introduce a bill aiming to ban weather modification. The Georgia lawmaker has amplified theories regarding attempts to alter weather patterns throughout the U.S. As Greene frets over meteorology, Trump loyalist Steve Bannon has warned of a gloomy forecast for House GOP incumbents. The former White House aide said approximately 40 seats could be overturned due to controversy regarding the administration's handling of the Epstein files. Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said she had a list of client names 'sitting on her desk,' however, the Department of Justice and FBI released a memo on Monday alleging the financier kept no record of his clientele. Some have accused the White House of concealing records regarding wealthy billionaires who engaged in Epstein's sex trafficking escapades. Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, will likely address the ever-evolving storyline regarding the convicted sex offender and financier and its potential impact on the 2026 midterm election during an appearance on Fox News's 'Sunday Morning Futures.' Democrats have jeered as the public digests statements from the White House and other agencies regarding Epstein. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) will likely discuss the internal perspective of party members looking to regain seats in red districts as next year's campaigns heat up on CBS's 'Face the Nation.' All this and more will be highlighted on this week's Sunday shows. Please see the full list of guests below: NewsNation's 'The Hill Sunday': Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.). ABC's 'This Week': Kevin Hassett, White House National Economic Council Director; Deanne Criswell, Former FEMA Administrator; Pete Gaynor, Former FEMA Administrator Fox's 'Fox News Sunday': Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.); Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) Fox New's 'Sunday Morning Futures': House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.); Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); Kevin Warsh, Former Federal Reserve Governor; Carter Page, Former Trump Campaign Adviser; RET. Gen Jack Keane, Fox News Senior Strategic Analyst; Chairman, Institute For The Study Of War, Fmr Vice Chief Of Staff Of The Army NBC 'Meet the Press': Noem; Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.); Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D). CNN's 'State of the Union': Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.); Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas). CBS's 'Face the Nation': Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.); Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.); Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.); Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.)
