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Donald Trump says that Democrats “love” speaking about Epstein—but it completely’s the president who can’t appear to end mentioning his veteran occasion excellent friend, even when his cronies are desperately making an are attempting to aquire him some quilt.

Sources educated Fox Recordsdata Digital Wednesday that FBI Director Kash Patel had stumbled on more than one burn bags stuffed with sensitive documents stashed away in a secret room at the company. All the contrivance in which by contrivance of a press convention later that day, Trump used to be asked to present a assertion about Patel’s a long way-fetched are attempting to distract from the president’s ties to the alleged intercourse trafficker—but he couldn’t assist but bring up Epstein anyway.

“Neatly, I need the entire lot to be shown. You already know, as prolonged because it’s magnificent and cheap I deem it might perhaps per chance well well be shown and it goes to be shown, and I deem [Patel] feels that contrivance, and I deem Pam feels that contrivance,” Trump said. But his feedback echoed his outdated statements about releasing any “credible” recordsdata from the Epstein recordsdata. Clearly, the president wasn’t all that attracted to speaking about Patel’s supposed bombshell.

“But it’s gotta be stuff that with out a doubt doesn’t damage folks unfairly, because you’ve gotten so many contributors fervent. And if they are able to originate that in a perfect contrivance, I deem it’s mountainous. I deem it’s with out a doubt mountainous. The entire thing is a rip-off,” Trump rambled. “It’s a rip-off contrivance up by the Democrats and they love speaking about it.”

But apparently Trump is the one who loves speaking about Epstein, as he took off on a winding rant that had fully nothing to originate with what he’d with out a doubt been asked about.

“I would love to search folks exposed that shall be unfriendly, and we’ll search how that every works out, but it completely’s getting to be very veteran recordsdata. You already know, if they had something they would’ve done it the week sooner than the election, because they were losing by plenty,” Trump continued. “If they had something they would bask in done it. They controlled the file. The Democrats controlled it. Comey, and the total sleazebags, every physique of them that you look at veritably.”

Trump’s defensiveness aside, certainly one of many documents supposedly contained internal the mysterious burn bags used to be the categorized annex to broken-down particular counsel John Durham’s 2023 document on the FBI’s investigations into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential campaigns. This all excellent occurs to be the actual same area of the Trump administration’s makes an are attempting to draw consideration away from its surprising refusal to free up more recordsdata from the manager’s recordsdata on Epstein.

Durham’s document already resulted in prison costs in opposition to totally three folks, and at trial, the actual counsel lost two of these conditions, with the third defendant pleading guilty to altering an email veteran to enhance a surveillance utility. So the thought that this mysterious annex will unveil a giant conspiracy is severely no longer going, because the FBI’s behavior has already been litigated. Peaceful, the Trump administration is at display working to declassify the annex and then fragment it with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, per Fox Recordsdata Digital.

Earlier this month, Trump used to be asked by Fair appropriate the Recordsdata whether he might perhaps per chance well well be beginning to declassifying Durham’s annex. “I would declassify it, yeah. Why no longer?” Trump said. “I would fully declassify it.”

Senate Democrats are pulling out a uncommon end in hopes of compelling the Justice Division and Federal Bureau of Investigation to free up all documents related to notorious gradual pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer launched that he and the seven Democratic individuals of the Senate Committee on Fatherland Security and Govt Affairs are annoying the recordsdata, citing “a century-veteran and minute-known” statute known because the “rule of 5.”

Below the rule, executive companies are, upon the query of 5 individuals of the Fatherland Security Committee, required to post “any recordsdata requested of it referring to to any matter internal the jurisdiction of the committee.”

“When any 5 senators on the Fatherland Security Committee call on the manager division, the manager division ought to comply,” Schumer explained.

The Senate Democrats’ query entails all DOJ and FBI “documents, recordsdata, evidence, and numerous offers” related to the case United States v. Jeffrey Epstein.

“It’s no longer a stunt, it’s no longer symbolic,” Schumer said. “It’s a formal exercise of congressional energy beneath federal regulation.”

“We are the usage of very queer statutory authority that is granted totally to our committee,” said the committee’s rating member, Gary Peters, who emphasised that the query covers documents that Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel “bask in publicly already confirmed they bask in in their possession.”

The Senate Democrats demand an answer by August 15.

The announcement comes because the Trump administration scandalously fails to fulfill a advertising and marketing campaign promise to free up the recordsdata, which reportedly point out Trump continuously.

The Home is at display on what Schumer has dubbed an “Epstein recess,” as Speaker Mike Johnson known as off the legislative session early after Democrats forced the Epstein utter in vote after vote.

In the period in-between, the president’s allies appear to search convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell as presenting a path out of the mire.

Trump’s deputy legal expert fashioned has met with Maxwell twice in the good thing about closed doors, and the Home Oversight Committee plans to depose her on August 11. But Maxwell’s legal expert said she’s going to refuse to testify unless she is both granted clear concessions or receives clemency from Trump. The president, for his section, has refused to publicly rule out granting this kind of query and has insisted continuously that he is “allowed” to pardon her.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday launched it might perhaps well no longer lower interest charges, refusing over again to obey President Trump’s power calls for to originate so.

In explaining the choice, Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointed to Trump’s tariffs and their affect on the financial system.

“Elevated tariffs are pushing up costs in some categories of issues,” he said. “Advance-term measures of inflation expectations bask in moved up on steadiness over the route of this year on recordsdata about tariffs.”

The choice is run to upset the president, who has prolonged known as on the Fed to lower interest charges.

“Now we bask in a man who excellent refuses to lower the Fed rate,” Trump said final month, in certainly one of his many assaults on Powell, a fixed nemesis of his. “Perchance I ought to gentle trot to the Fed. Am I allowed to nominate myself? I’d originate a significantly higher job than these folks.”

Trump has spent 5 straight conferences annoying interest charges be lowered, which suggests some insecurity about the prolonged traipse utter of the financial system on his section, in particular as economists stay wide awake for the stout scope of his trade war to boom itself.

Two Trump-appointed Fed governors, Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, dissented from Powell’s decision on Wednesday, likely making an are attempting to dwell in the president’s proper graces in the chance that he fires Powell, something he has alluded to heaps of occasions now.

The Fed lending rate will build internal the 4.25 p.c to 4.5 p.c differ.

This chronicle has been updated.

The Trump administration is working towards privatizing Social Security.

Speaking with Breitbart at the a long way-proper media firm’s policy occasion Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent referred to the “tall, horny invoice’s” “Trump accounts” as a “backdoor” for privatizing the overall public program.

As a stipulation of Trump’s tax invoice, the U.S. executive would deposit $1,000 in so-known as “Trump accounts” for Americans born between 2025 and 2028. The funding, per Bessent, would dually assist as a system to end children from getting “dissatisfied with the map” and voting for the likes of New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and a system to slyly privatize Social Security.

“So if you originate this, you create everybody a shareholder. You create everybody a stakeholder. Folk who are section of the map originate no longer are looking out to bring down the map,” Bessent said.

Bessent then shared an chronicle about being asked to support prepare a boom worker’s hypothetical lottery winnings, to which he claimed that the “ideal thing it is doubtless you’ll per chance well well per chance additionally originate is ready that $20.”

“Now, with these accounts, they might perhaps per chance well additionally be section of the map. What if they had set that cash in the S&P? Or in Bitcoin? Or in something? So, we’re making folks section of the map, we’re rising monetary literacy,” Bessent said. “I deem that at Treasury, we’ll push, with these accounts, that whilst you’ve gotten the chronicle we need you to search out out about it and comprehend it.

“In a system, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security,” he continued. “Social Security is a outlined revenue knowing paid out to the extent that if, all of a surprising, these accounts grow and also you’ve gotten in the a good deal of thousands of greenbacks for your retirement, then that’s a sport changer, too.”

Congressional Republicans pushed by contrivance of Trump’s tax knowing earlier this month with none Democratic enhance. The regulation is never any longer anticipated to set the manager any cash, as Trump had initially promised. In its place, Trump’s key legislative victory—which is ready to gash taxes on the ultrawealthy and firms whereas gutting social programs similar to Medicaid—is predicted to add upward of $6 trillion to the debt, per a projection from the Cato Institute, a libertarian deem tank.

Conservative lawmakers are battling teeth and nail to defend their proper to trade shares whereas relatively than work.

The caucus grew to became out in staunch opposition Wednesday to Republican Senator Josh Hawley’s proposed stock procuring and selling ban, causing a major slither in the higher chamber after the White Home flagged the invoice as a unfriendly idea.

In repeat to fabricate Democratic enhance and advance the motion by contrivance of the Senate Committee on Fatherland Security and Governmental Affairs, Hawley agreed to incorporate text internal the invoice that might perhaps per chance well well additionally area Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to the parameters of the ban, excellent as individuals of Congress might perhaps per chance well well be. However the White Home’s Declare of job of Legislative Affairs, and the manager division’s Senate allies, were no longer in settle on.

Senator Ron Johnson torched the trouble as “legislative demagoguery,” claiming Wednesday that banning lawmakers and their spouses from procuring and selling shares would “create it very unattractive for fogeys to traipse for utter of work.”

“I with out a doubt bask in no idea what we’re voting for,” said Senator Bernie Moreno. “I with out a doubt bask in no longer read the mountains of paper which would be sitting in entrance of me.”

At one level, Senator Rick Scott condemned the trouble as “disgusting,” accusing Hawley of denigrating billionaires. But Hawley, seated subsequent to Scott, had a company response.

“I don’t mind anybody being rich, I mind folks getting rich whereas they’re right here and procuring and selling shares,” the Missouri senator said.

Committee Chair Rand Paul equally adverse the invoice, positing that this kind of ban would bask in made it very no longer going for Trump to be president. The Kentucky lawmaker admitted that he had scheduled a vote on the invoice in a gentle quid pro quo: “To get hang of two payments that I need passed by contrivance of with out being beleaguered by amendments,” he said in an interview with Axios.

The White Home, meanwhile, argued that its opposition to Hawley’s invoice had minute to originate with its contents.

“This used to be a final-minute deal struck to incorporate the Executive Division equities with out touching hideous with the White Home to talk about doable Article II considerations,” a White Home genuine educated Axios. “Any end comes purely from doable Article II infringement, no longer the Congressional ban.”

The president, alternatively, attacked Hawley in my idea hours later, claiming that the senator’s decision to “block” a overview of Representative Nancy Pelosi’s stock procuring and selling used to be “sabotage.”

Hawley had launched the brand new invoice in 2023 after Pelosi’s husband got right here beneath elevated scrutiny for his intensive procuring and selling practices, though the accusations festered with none evidence of insider procuring and selling. By the stop of the day, the committee had voted 8-7 to advance the invoice, with all Republicans with the exception of Hawley voting in opposition to it.

“The Democrats, thanks to our mountainous ACHIEVEMENTS and SUCCESS, were making an are attempting to ‘Target’ me for a prolonged timeframe, and they’re the usage of Josh Hawley, who I purchased elected TWICE, as a pawn to support them,” Trump wrote on Fact Social. “I ponder why Hawley would pass a Invoice that Nancy Pelosi is in absolute love with—He is playing proper into the soiled palms of the Democrats. It’s a mountainous Invoice for her, and her ‘husband,’ but so unfriendly for our Country!”

“I don’t deem right Republicans are looking out to search their President, who has had extraordinary success, TARGETED, thanks to the ‘whims’ of a 2nd-tier Senator named Josh Hawley!” Trump added.

This chronicle has been updated.

Since Donald Trump entered the White Home, the supposedly hardline fiscal conservatives of the Home Freedom Caucus appear to bask in softened that line to a malleable putty—and everybody on Capitol Hill knows it.

The Bulwark reported Wednesday that as individuals of the HFC left for summer season destroy, they were “everywhere in the set” following a chain of toothless concessions to the president’s sweeping spending agenda. Now, the Home Freedom Caucus has even earned a brand new nickname amongst journalists and lawmakers: the Home Folding Caucus.

Even though they had initially criticized the Senate’s model of Trump’s behemoth funds invoice first and valuable of July, HFC individuals in the waste fell in line to enhance the president’s invoice that might perhaps per chance well well explode the national deficit by trillions of greenbacks. A few weeks later, they momentarily stalled Trump’s GENIUS Act, arguing that the cryptobill went in opposition to an executive repeat banning central monetary institution currency. But over again, they conceded to the president’s calls for after the GOP leadership promised to tie the ban into the Pentagon’s policy invoice later this year.

HFC Chairman Andy Harris said that the neighborhood ought to gentle open working on a one-year continuing resolution that might perhaps per chance well well enable them to freeze federal funding, however the neighborhood’s field stays unclear. Four individuals are at display staging their exits from Congress, with Representatives Ralph Norman, Byron Donalds, and Andy Biggs all preparing gubernatorial campaigns in their respective states, and Representative Mike Collins launching a Senate boom in his utter.

With a president who excellent does whatever he needs no matter what Congress thinks, a a long way-proper assault dog is never any longer any longer required—and has been left neutered and freezing in the doghouse.

Texas Republicans are transferring forward with their gerrymandering knowing that can with out a doubt originate new pro-Trump districts in a utter that already has an overwhelming GOP majority.

The new scheme, printed Wednesday, will originate 5 new GOP-skewed districts, which can additionally completely assist Republicans grow their majority in the Home in 2026. The scheme locations districts at display held by Democratic Representatives Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez in possibility of becoming more purple, whereas conserving aside blue districts to originate even more Republican-leaning ones.

On Wednesday, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa said he used to be “offended” by Donald Trump’s “non-public assaults,” because the president wages war on the Senate’s “blue slither” custom.

Traditionally, when the president nominates any individual for a federal judgeship, the Senate Judiciary Committee chair (at display Grassley) sends so-known as blue slips to the nominee’s dwelling-utter senators. If every return the slips, the nomination proceeds; if as a minimum one holds off, it’s effectively vetoed.

In giving the minority occasion primary affect over the affirmation job, the custom restricts Trump’s ongoing effort to mildew the judiciary in his image. The president has thus been making exercise of strain on Grassley to desert it.

On Tuesday night, Trump said, in a Fact Social put up, that the custom is a “per chance Unconstitutional” “hoax” and “SCAM” that might perhaps per chance well well power him to nominate Democratic or “aged” Republicans relatively than “Extremely Licensed” (read: MAGA) judges.

He suggested Grassley to search out the “Courage” to desert the custom “IMMEDIATELY,” in an effort to “no longer let the Democrats laugh at him and the Republican Social gathering for being aged and ineffective.” The president additionally made a display take stout credit score for Grassley’s 2022 reelection to the Senate “when he used to be down, by plenty,” Trump said.

The president additionally shared a desire of numerous users’ posts opposing blue slips, just a few of which took pot shots at Grassley. One known as Grassley a “sneaky” “RINO,” brief for Republican in name totally. One accused the senator of “standing in the contrivance in which” of Trump’s agenda. One other put up shared by Trump urged that clear elected officers, along with Grassley, were relatively than work too prolonged and wants to be “dethrone[d]” by approach of term limits.

On Tuesday night, Grassley indicated that he would no longer originate away with the custom. The senator then hit advantage at Trump at some stage in his opening remarks at a Wednesday Senate Judiciary hearing.

“Final night, I used to be taken aback to search President Trump on Fact Social trot after me and Senate Republicans over what we call the ‘blue slither,’” Grassley said, sooner than giving a temporary clarification of the custom for “folks in the Proper The United States” relatively than the “island surrounded by truth” that is Washington, D.C.

“I used to be offended by what the president said, and I’m upset that it might perhaps per chance well well result in non-public insults,” Grassley continued.

Politico reports that Grassley’s decision to defend company has the enhance of occasion leaders on both facet of the aisle.

Environmental Security Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has determined to faux that the neatly being dangers resulted in by greenhouse gases don’t exist—however the Fox Recordsdata chyron beneath him educated a clear chronicle.

“EPA is proposing to rescind the 2009 Obama EPA Endangerment Finding to set away with the total greenhouse gasoline emissions rules that adopted,” Zeldin said at some stage in an interview on Fox Recordsdata Tuesday, “along with electric automobile mandates, which amounts to a trillion dollars’ rate of financial savings.”

In December 2009, the EPA published an Endangerment Finding that said that the latest and projected concentrations of greenhouse gases in the ambiance “threaten the overall public neatly being and welfare of latest and future generations.” Greenhouse gases entice outgoing infrared heat internal the Earth’s ambiance, ensuing in global warming.

Fair appropriate just a few months ago, Zeldin couldn’t even recount whether carbon used to be a pollutant (spoiler alert, it is). Now he is primed to take away the finding that contrivance the fashioned for more than one industries to restrict their greenhouse gasoline emissions.

But as just journalist Aaron Rupar pointed out on X, Zeldin’s announcement used to be rendered right this moment ridiculous by the chyron excellent beneath him.

Because the anti-science flunkie accountable for the EPA happily launched his knowing to strip greenhouse gasoline rules, an “Outrageous Warmth” warning appeared in the backside proper nook. The chyron beneath him displayed the “Most up-to-the-minute Temps Now” from numerous cities everywhere in the nation: 102 levels in Arizona; 100 levels in Florida; 100 levels in Georgia; ninety nine levels in California.

This week, a document-breaking heat wave struck the eastern United States, with coarse heat advisories being issued everywhere in the set from Florida to New York. Over the final decade, heat-related deaths bask in doubled in the U.S.

The Obama-era Endangerment Finding that Zeldin would love to repeal straight linked greenhouse gasoline emissions to frequent adjustments in coarse temperatures around the area—adding that rising temperatures would likely flip deadly.

“The affect on mortality and morbidity associated with increases in common temperatures, which develop the chance of heat waves, additionally offers enhance for a public neatly being endangerment finding,” the document said, noting that “heat is already the leading trigger of weather related deaths in the US.”

The Trump administration excellent dashed any chance of a brand new trade take care of India, imposing a 25 p.c tariff on the nation Wednesday along with a penalty for procuring protection power instruments and energy from Russia.

The area’s most populous nation has held off on offering new concessions to the U.S., announcing on Tuesday that it used to be ready to honest pick up tariffs as high as 25 p.c on its exports to American customers.

But with excellent two days on the clock to finalize the deal, it doesn’t seem that Donald Trump has a company take care of on India’s jaded solution to the negotiations.

“WE HAVE A MASSIVE TRADE DEFICIT WITH INDIA!!!” he exclaimed on Fact Social Wednesday.

The U.S. imports more items and services and products from India than it sells. In 2024, the nation’s trade deficit with India used to be $forty five.7 billion—a 5.4 p.c develop over the prior year, per the Declare of job of the U.S. Alternate Representative.

“Keep in mind, whereas India is our buddy, we bask in got, over time, done relatively minute trade with them because their Tariffs are a long way too high, amongst the ideal in the World, and they bask in per chance the most strenuous and rotten non-monetary Alternate Barriers of any Country,” Trump wrote in an earlier put up.

“Additionally, they bask in continuously sold a giant majority of their protection power instruments from Russia, and are Russia’s largest purchaser of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everybody needs Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE—ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!” he continued. “INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25 PERCENT, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!”

Traditionally, it takes U.S. officers roughly 18 months to negotiate a brand new trade agreement with one other nation. That boils down to exhaustive opinions of the nation’s prior trade, sorting by contrivance of thousands of line items of products, and analyzing the advanced trivialities of local import and export rules.

Even though India used to be certainly one of many first worldwide locations to beginning up new trade negotiations with the U.S. in February, even Trump administration officers bask in acknowledged that the take care of India is gentle half-baked. U.S. Alternate Representative Jamieson Greer educated CNBC Monday that India has “steady interest in opening parts of its market” to U.S. products but that the talks require more time. Final week, India’s Alternate Minister Piyush Goyal educated Reuters that India used to be making “mountainous growth” with the Trump administration.

But blowing past aged expectations in settle on of baseless projections has no longer confirmed to be a gradual success approach for the 2nd Trump administration. In its place, picking to throw the nation valid into a procuring and selling blitz with dozens of its ideal procuring and selling partners has effectively forced the U.S. valid into a regrettable losing field, with American officers continuously having to hedge on what were presupposed to be adamant closing dates.

If Trump is to be believed, alternatively, then Friday would be the exception.

“THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE—IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED,” Trump wrote earlier on Wednesday. “A BIG DAY FOR AMERICA!!!”

India isn’t the surely nation maintaining out on U.S. trade negotiations. China, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Switzerland, and Thailand bask in additionally no longer finalized their arrangements with the Trump administration, though no longer all of them face the August 1 cutoff.