Trump is ‘panicking’ after failing ‘to kill our Jeffrey Epstein investigation’, says top Democrat, after president’s sudden pivot – live

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US judge finds evidence of ‘government misconduct’ in federal case against Comey

A US judge has found evidence of “government misconduct” in how a prosecutor aligned with Donald Trump secured criminal charges against former FBI director James Comey and ordered that grand jury materials be turned over to Comey’s defense team.

Last week, prosecutors were ordered to produce a trove of materials from the investigation, with the court saying it was concerned that the US justice department’s position on Comey had been to “indict first and investigate later”.

Comey is charged with lying to Congress in 2020 in a case filed days after the US president appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies. He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have argued that it is a vindictive prosecution brought at the direction of the Republican president and must be dismissed.

'Trump has put the gun on the table,' Bolton says about latest military escalation in Venezuela

Former national security adviser and noted Trump adversary John Bolton said that he supports “the idea of returning the government of Venezuela to its own people” in an interview with CNN today. But he remains “troubled” because he doesn’t “see what the plan is”.

He added:

If it’s simply about illegal narcotics, that’s one thing. But it seems to be about overthrowing Maduro. Why else bring the Gerald R Ford carrier strike group from the European theater to the Caribbean? Trump has now put the gun on the table. The question is, is he going to use it or not?

It’s worth remembering that FBI searched Bolton’s home earlier this year, and he was later charged with transmitting and retaining highly classified information under the Espionage Act. He pleaded not guilty, following his indictment last month.

Several Epstein survivors urge House lawmakers to release files in new video

Several of Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors appear in a new public service announcement to encourage House lawmakers to vote for the complete release of justice department files on the late sex offender.

In the video, produced by anti-trafficking organization World Without Exploitation, the survivors hold pictures of their younger selves. “It’s time to bring the secrets out of the shadows,” one says. The video ends with the screen reading: “Five administrations and we’re still in the dark.”

Trump is 'panicking', says top Democrat on oversight committee

Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the House oversight committee, which released the tranche of new Epstein documents last week, said that Donald Trump “has tried everything to kill our Jeffrey Epstein investigation”.

The Democrat went on to say: “Now [Trump’s] panicking and has realized he is about to lose this Epstein vote to force the Department of Justice to release the files.

“Let’s be crystal clear: Trump has the power to release all the files today,” Garcia added in a statment. “But instead, he wants to continue this cover-up and launch bogus new investigations to deflect and slow down our investigation. It won’t work. We will get justice for the survivors.”

The US has said it will designate a putative Venezuelan drug cartel allegedly led by Nicolás Maduro as a foreign terrorist organization, as the Trump administration sent more mixed messages over its crusade against Venezuela’s authoritarian leader.

The move to target the already proscribed group, the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), was announced by Marco Rubio on Sunday. “Headed by the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro, the group has corrupted the institutions of government in Venezuela and is responsible for terrorist violence conducted by and with other designated FTOs as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe,” the US secretary of state tweeted, generating excitement among hardline adversaries of Maduro who interpreted the announcement as proof Washington was preparing to intensify its push to force the South American dictator from power.

But shortly after Rubio’s pronouncement, those hopes were undermined when Trump hinted he might be prepared to negotiate with Maduro representatives. “We may be having some conversations with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. They would like to talk,” Trump told reporters.

As we reported earlier, 81 people were arrested by Customs and Border Protection officers in Charlotte, North Carolina, over the weekend. My colleague Victoria Bouloubasis reports that the Meckenburg county sheriff, Gary McFadden, said on Sunday that he was not surprised by federal agents’ actions this weekend. “This is something I have seen, something I have been battling repeatedly,” he said.

McFadden confirmed that his office will not assist ICE or border patrol with law enforcement actions. That also means the county cannot intervene in any federal arrests.

“Border patrol are going to do what they are being tasked to do. We cannot stop that,” he said. “I would suggest that people stay out of their way.”

The sheriff, who is Black, acknowledged that “some communities welcome this” in Mecklenburg county “and the others are living in fear and anxiety for the rest of this week, maybe the rest of this year. Mentally it’s unbelievable to live in fear every day. African Americans can maybe understand it a little better than other people.”

Former Republican lawmaker and Trump critic says Greene has to 'prove' she's no longer committed to being a 'divisive asshole'

Joe Walsh, the former Republican congressman from Illinois, has offered some words of advice to Marjorie Taylor Greene, as she continues to speak out against Donald Trump’s claims that she’s a “traitor” for pushing for the complete release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Former congressman Joe Walsh reacts during a campaign to be the 2020 Republican presidential nominee, on 31 January 2020. Photograph: Matt Marton/EPA

“As a onetime divisive right-wing political asshole, I publicly came out against Trump & stopped being a divisive asshole over 7yrs ago,” Walsh wrote. A reminder, that the former representative was a loyal Republican until the end of Trump’s first term when he mounted a short-lived primary challenge against the president in 2020. Walsh has since been a vocal critic of the Trump administration and became a registered Democrat this year.

“I’ve spent every day these past 7yrs proving the sincerity of my conversion, and doing all I can to defeat Trump/Trumpism. MTG will have to walk down this same road,” he added in his post on X.“ I appreciate her pledging to no longer be a divisive asshole, but now she’s gotta prove it.”

BBC chair Samir Shah tells staff Trump has 'no basis' for libel case and corporation 'determined' to fight it

The BBC chair, Samir Shah, has told staff that the corporation is “determined” to fight any defamation action brought by Donald Trump. The president has no case, Shah says.

In a note to staff seen by PA Media, Shah says:

There is a lot being written, said and speculated upon about the possibility of legal action, including potential costs or settlements.

In all this we are, of course, acutely aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our licence fee payers, the British public.

I want to be very clear with you – our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this.

Last week I took the opportunity to speak with the executive team and am reassured of their resolute focus on ensuring the BBC continues to deliver on behalf of audiences and staff.

I know they plan to spend as much time as possible with their teams over the coming weeks to reinforce the importance of that work and answer your questions.

Marjorie Taylor Greene says her construction companies have received pipe bomb threats amid feud with Trump over Epstein files

As her fallout with the president continues over her push for the full release of the Epstein files, Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said that the “hoax pizza deliveries have started now, to my house and my family members”.

She also noted that her construction company’s office building received a “pipe bomb threat”.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been down this road before. As a matter of fact, as I campaigned all over the country and defended President Trump, I received dozens of swatting calls on my house,” the lawmaker said in a post on X. “When the President of the United States irresponsibly calls a Member of Congress of his own party, traitor, he is signaling what must be done to a traitor.”

Donald Trump is in Washington today. As we noted earlier, he’ll hold a meeting with the 2026 World Cup taskforce in the Oval Office at 2pm ET. We’ll bring you the latest lines from that meeting, particularly as it will be the first event open to the press since the president’s apparent U-turn on the House releasing the Epstein files.

Later, Trump will deliver remarks at McDonald’s impact summit. This will be in DC, and there will be a number of Democratic leaders speaking and in attendance.