Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell ‘in the coming days,’ Bondi says
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(WASHINGTON) –Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, sometime in the “coming days.”
“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche said in the statement posted by Bondi on X.
Blanche also said that the joint statement from the Justice Department and FBI on July 6 — which stated they would not release any additional files on Epstein and that they determined there was no Epstein “client list” — “remains as accurate today as it was when it was written.”
“Namely, that in the recent thorough review of the files maintained by the FBI in the Epstein case, no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” Blanche said.
He added that up “until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government.”
The statement comes as a growing chorus of lawmakers have called for Maxwell to testify about her relationship with Epstein, and while the department is actively opposing Maxwell’s efforts to appeal her conviction for conspiring with and aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls.
David Oscar Markus, the appellate counsel for Maxwell, confirmed to ABC News that they are in talks with the government.
“I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government, and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully,” Markus said. “We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.”
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
Last week, President Donald Trump ordered the DOJ to “release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval,” he said on social media.
The DOJ requested in its filing, which was signed by Bondi and Blanche, for the court to “conclude that the Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwell cases qualify as a matter of public interest, release the associated grand jury transcripts, and lift preexisting protective orders.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump unveiled the framework for a trade agreement with the United Kingdom on Thursday, marking the first such accord with any nation since the White House suspended some of its far-reaching “Liberation Day” tariffs last month.
The Trump administration will adjust 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, and will lower auto tariffs from 25% to 10% on the first 100,000 British vehicles sent to the U.S., Trump said.
The agreement left in place 10% tariffs that the U.S. slapped last month on imported goods from nearly all foreign countries.
In exchange, the U.K. will ease trade barriers targeting a set of products, including ethanol, beef and machinery, among other products, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. That additional market access amounts to $5 billion worth of trade, the White House said.
The U.S. also secured a $10 billion purchase of Boeing airplane parts and a “secure supply chain” for pharmaceuticals, according to information shared by Trump on social media on Thursday.
The U.K. will fast-track U.S. imports through customs inspection, Trump said.
The U.S.-U.K. agreement left some details to be worked out later, setting the two countries on a path toward a wider deal, Trump said.
Addressing reports at the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump touted the agreement.
“This deal is working out for both countries,” Trump said, noting the “final details are being written up.”
In remarks made over a speaker phone on Trump’s desk, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said negotiations between the two sides moved toward an agreement in recent weeks.
“This is a really important deal,” Starmer said. “There are no two countries that are closer than our two countries.”
Starmer acknowledged some details still need to be “ironed out.”
The roughly $68 billion in imported goods from the U.K. last year accounted for about 2% of U.S. imported goods, U.S. data showed. The U.S. exported nearly $80 billion worth of products to the U.K. last year, which accounted for almost 4% of U.S. goods exports.
Dozens of nations face potential so-called “reciprocal tariffs,” but the U.K. is not among them, since the U.K. buys more than it sells to the U.S. The White House paused the reciprocal tariffs until July, as it seeks to strike trade agreements with dozens of countries.
Testifying before a House subcommittee on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration had commenced negotiations with 17 of the top 18 U.S. trade partners, excluding China. Those countries account for the vast majority of U.S. foreign trade, Bessent said.
Bessent is set to travel to Geneva, Switzerland, for initial trade negotiations with China on Saturday. The U.S. last month imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting 125% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products.
On Thursday, Trump said the negotiations between the U.S. and China would be “very substantive,” voicing a willingness to lower the tariffs on Chinese goods.
Trump’s tariff escalation last month roiled markets and triggered recession warnings on Wall Street.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned Trump’s tariff policy could cause higher inflation and an economic slowdown.
“If the large increase in tariffs that have been announced are sustained, they’re likely to generate a rise in inflation and a slowdown of economic growth,” Powell said Wednesday.
Still, key indicators suggest the economy remains in “solid shape”, Powell said.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is weighing in on House Republicans’ mega-bill aimed at advancing his legislative agenda Friday morning — calling on his party to unite behind it despite objections from hard-liners.
As several hard-liners signaled that they would derail the tax and budget measure over concerns that it adds to a bloated national debt, Trump called on them to fall in line.
“We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!” Trump posted on his social media channel Friday morning.
The president said that country will “suffer greatly” without the legislation and said Republicans “must unite.”
The president’s message comes as the House Republicans — particularly Speaker Mike Johnson — work to get the more than 1,000-page “Big Beautiful Bill Act” back on track as those holdouts complicate advancing the package out of the House Budget Committee as it convenes Friday morning.
Republican Rep. Josh Brecheen, who appeared skeptical on Thursday, said on social media that “we have a duty to know the true cost of this legislation before advancing it. If we are to operate in truth, we must have true numbers — even if that means taking some more time to obtain that truth.”
They are also working to strike a consensus on the SALT caps — the amount of state and local taxes that can be written off on federal tax returns — as moderates draw a red line opposing the proposed $30,000 cap on those deductions.
The vote is yet another test of Johnson’s speakership as he works to placate the hard-liners and unify the factions of his conference.
On Thursday, Johnson spoke with the holdouts and said budget negotiations are still ongoing.
“Keep this thing moving forward,” he said of the more than 1,000-page mega-bill.
Johnson said Friday that he is keeping President Donald Trump up to date with the latest developments with the massive package and that the president is excited about the House’s “forward progress.”
(WASHINGTON) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent decision to consider redrawing his state’s congressional districts mid-decade, which could eke out more seats for the Republican Party, has prompted Democrats to issue new threats to draw Republicans out of seats in blue states.
Redistricting plans are expected during an upcoming special session, which will begin on July 21, interspersed into an agenda focused on flood preparation and relief after major flooding in central Texas. The special session can only last a maximum of 30 days.
The Republican-controlled state legislature drew the current map in 2021, which was set to remain in effect until 2031.
President Donald Trump’s political operation floated the prospect last month, in efforts to shore up the GOP’s fragile House majority, to tepid responses from the state’s Congressional delegation. Yet, just this week, Trump rubber-stamped the effort, and wants his party to pick up five seats if Texas redraws its Congressional maps. He suggested that there “could be” other states that follow suit. He did not specify which states.
State Republicans have some prior precedent of shifting things around— in 2003, Texas Republicans attempted to tweak their districts mid-cycle. In trying to thwart the effort, around 50 Democrats at the time fled to neighboring Oklahoma, denying the session a quorum, and paralyzing the legislative session. Even still, the Democrats were only able to delay talks and Republicans eventually successfully redistricted that session.
Democrats are pushing back.
On Monday, state lawmakers held a call with U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, and former Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the special session. They did not directly encourage members to stage a walkout, a source who was on that call told ABC News. Still, the source added the state House members are continuing to keep all their options open.
California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom is being more explicit – telling the Pod Save America podcast that he has spoken to state lawmakers about calling a special session to begin making changes to state law in order to redraw their districts in response to Abbott.
“If we’re gonna play fair in a world that is wholly unfair, we may have the higher moral ground, but the ground is shifting from underneath us. And I think we have to wake up to that reality,” Newsom said.
California has an independent redistricting commission intended to prevent gerrymandering, but Paul Mitchell, an elections and redistricting expert, said Newsom could go around the commission either by getting voters’ approval on a ballot measure in a special election or by arguing in court.
A potential ballot measure could halt the commission’s authority to draw congressional districts until other states began using similar commissions, and “could all be done in time for the next election” without legal issues. The biggest uncertainty in this scenario would be whether or not voters would support it.
Alternatively, Newsom could argue the commission only has authority over decade-end redistricting, but the legislature can still redistrict mid-decade. Mitchell said it was a coin toss whether the California Supreme Court would uphold this argument.
Jeffries huddled with California’s congressional delegation to discuss the prospect Wednesday, a source familiar said. Experts suggested to ABC that other Democratic-held states could follow California’s lead, such as New York, Maryland or Illinois, but it’s unclear if there would be a significant strategic advantage.
Marina Jenkins, the executive director Holder’s National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said in a statement that Republicans are trying to “suppress votes” and believes an “an immediate avalanche of lawsuits” will come if the maps are redrawn.
“This moment requires all hands on deck to stop them,” said Jenkins.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation, and Rep. Pete Aguilar, Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, stated in a joint announcement that Texas’ “egregious” redistricting attempts “cannot go unanswered.”
A spokesperson for Abbott, asked about such accusations, wrote, “While partisan activists focus solely on political issues, Governor Abbott is dedicated to delivering results on issues important to Texans,” including flood relief.
Chad Wilbanks, a Republican strategist and former Texas GOP executive director, told ABC News, “The Republicans I talk to are very supportive of a mid-decade redistricting.” He thinks that the GOP could gain at least three seats thanks to population changes in the state.
Wilbanks dismissed Democrats’ claim that the redistricting gambit is politically motivated as “standard politics.”
Democrats are going on offense regardless. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats, made a verbal commitment to Texas Congressional Democrats to invest six figures to support digital ads and other actions to pressure Republicans over redistricting attempts, a source close to the committee told ABC News. Martin traveled to Texas on Friday at the invitation of state Democrats to strategize on next steps.
“If Texas Republicans want a showdown, we will give them a showdown,” Martin said in a statement.
ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
