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The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Evening Report newsletter Subscribe {beacon}THE SPOTLIGHT is on President Trump’s Justice Department, as separate investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the Intelligence Community’s actions around the 2016 election expand to include some of the biggest names in politics.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed the Department of Justice (DOJ) and a number of high-profile individuals Tuesday, as he seeks further transparency in the Epstein case.
Former President Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller are among those who received subpoenas.
In addition, Comer subpoenaed six former attorneys general spanning administrations: Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder.
“While the Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell’s cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell,” Comer wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi has been under pressure to reveal more details about the case since the DOJ and FBI sought to close the book on the matter after determining Epstein did not keep a “client list.”
Trump is also suing The Wall Street Journal, claiming a story they ran about him sending a birthday card to Epstein is false. Attorneys for both parties Tuesday agreed to delay a deposition for Rupert Murdoch.
Meanwhile, the DOJ requested the release of grand jury testimony transcripts in the trials of both Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Two of Epstein’s victims questioned the motive of the Trump administration’s move to unseal the testimony.
“What you have done and continue to do is eating at me day after day as you help to perpetuate this story indefinitely,” the victims said.
Maxwell is also objecting to the release of the testimony.
“Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is not,” Maxwell’s lawyers wrote in a filing. “Whatever interest the public may have in Epstein, that interest cannot justify a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy in a case where the defendant is alive, her legal options are viable, and her due process rights remain.”
CNN reports that the Trump administration is considering releasing a transcript from a meeting last month between a top DOJ official who interviewed Maxwell in Florida. The interview happened before Maxwell, who is serving 20 years for sex trafficking, was transferred to a prison in Texas.
MEANWHILE...
Bondi directed DOJ officials to open a grand jury investigation into how Obama administration officials handled intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard in recent weeks has declassified material alleging former Obama officials manipulated or manufactured intelligence to build a narrative that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to get Trump elected.
It's unclear who is being targeted in the grand jury probe, but the administration has previously pointed the finger at former CIA chief John Brennan, former DNI James Clapper and former FBI Director James Comey, among others.
“Following the compelling case outlined by DNI Tulsi Gabbard, which exposed clear and blatant weaponization by corrupt intelligence officials acting at the behest of the Democrat Party and likely former President Obama, the Administration remains committed to conducting a thorough investigation,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said.
“This effort aims to provide the American people with the truth about the extent to which former government officials worked to sabotage the Trump administration and undermine the will of the American people in a clear attempt to subvert our Constitutional Republic,” Fields added.
“I will tell you this, they deserve it. I was happy to hear it,” Trump told CNBC.
?Perspectives:
• Racket: An open letter to the Columbia Journal Review.
• The Hill: Dem motion to subpoena Epstein file has legal, historical basis.
• Reason: Science needs dissent.
• Free Press: U.S. China hawks are hurting the U.S.
Read more:
• Jeanine Pirro eyes guns, immigration as DC attorney.
US official visits Russia for ‘last chance’ talks on Ukraine
President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Russia on Wednesday for what Ukraine is describing as Moscow’s “last chance” to reach a peace deal before the U.S. imposes new economic sanctions on Russia.
It’s unclear who Witkoff will meet with. A Kremlin spokesperson would not confirm or deny a potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Today, we coordinated our positions – Ukraine and the United States,” Zelensky posted on X. “We exchanged assessments of the situation: The Russians have intensified the brutality of their attacks. President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities.”
NewsNation’s Robert Sherman is reporting from Ukraine this week. Watch his latest dispatch from the war-torn region here.
Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Putin for continuing the war on Ukraine.
The president imposed a Friday deadline on Russia to end the fighting or face new sanctions meant to isolate Moscow economically, although he’s been flexible with past deadlines.
Trump this week threatened new tariffs on India for continuing to buy Russian oil. China is another major buyer of Russian oil.
Trump has been escalating nuclear tensions with Russia, sending two U.S. submarines to the region in response to threatening rhetoric from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a top adviser to Putin.
Russia on Tuesday said it would no longer abide by a self-imposed moratorium on the deployment of nuclear-capable intermediate range missiles.
ELSEWHERE…
Trump said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that he’s bullish on reaching a trade deal with China, although the president is emphasizing that he’s not the one seeking a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“I don’t want it, he asked for a meeting and I’ll end up having a meeting before the end of the year mostly likely if we make a deal,” Trump said.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and other top officials from Switzerland are en route to Washington in search of a trade deal, as tariffs have squeezed key Swiss industries, including chocolate and watchmaking.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that Republicans on Capitol Hill are growing anxious about the economy after last week’s poor jobs report.
“It definitely is indicative of a weakened economy, an economy that’s not acting in a robust fashion. I’ve all along felt like there’s a lag between tariffs and actual economic downturn,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said.
Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose tariffs of up to 250 percent on pharmaceutical imports, the highest rate he’s discussed to date.
“We’ll be putting a, initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals,” Trump told CNBC’s "Squawk Box."
“But in one year, one in a half years maximum, it’s gonna go to 150 percent, and then it’s gonna go to 250 percent, because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country,” he added.
MEANWHILE…
Trump is mulling potential replacements for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term is up early next year.
“Sometimes they’re all very good and then you put them in there and then they don’t do so good,” Trump told CNBC, swiping at Powell, who he tapped for the role during his first term.
One name is off the list: Trump said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is happy in his role and doesn’t want to leave.
During the CNBC interview, Trump also revived his claims of discrimination, saying several big banks have turned him away.
“Probably not,” Trump said.
?Perspectives:
• The Hill: Facing facts about Trump and the jobs numbers.
• U.S. News: Trump’s tariff windfall ignites debate over spending
• Foreign Affairs: The Middle East’s new intermediaries.
• Wall Street Journal: Hamas starves Jews and Palestinians, Israel blamed.
• New Republic: American Jews’ Support for Israel Is Near Its Breaking Point.
Read more:
• These are the top buyers of Russian oil.
• Trump’s labor statistics shakeup sparks anxiety over future economic data.
• Brazil Supreme Court orders house arrest for Trump ally Bolsonaro.
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