Today's recap
House oversight Democrats released a new batch of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, in a last-ditch effort to pressure the DOJ to abide by tomorrow’s deadline to release its files related to the convicted sex offender. The images are undated and lack captions or context, and the appearance of people in the photos is not evidence of wrongdoing. Among them are photographs of what appear to be lines from the novel Lolita written on different parts of a woman’s body. There are also photographs of Bill Gates posing with a woman whose face has been redacted, and of the prominent linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky sitting on a plane with Epstein. Other images show Woody Allen, the director; Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser; and David Brooks, the author and New York Times opinion columnist, among others. The batch also includes photos of a number of foreign passports, with the information redacted, as well as Epstein’s US passport. There is also a screenshot of a text message conversation from a unknown sender referring to an 18-year-old from Russia. The sender says “I have a friend scout she sent me some girls today” then sends “But she asks 1000$ per girl”. Following messages read “I will send u girls now”, and “Maybe someone will be good for J?”.
Congressional Democrats expect that Trump’s Justice Department will comply with the deadline to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday.“Based on my conversations with some of the top Democrats who’ve been working on this matter related to the full and complete disclosure of the Epstein files, we do expect compliance,” Jeffries said, according to The Hill. “But if the Department of Justice does not comply with what is federal law at this point, there will be strong bipartisan pushback.”
In a statement after the release, Robert Garcia, a US representative and ranking member of the committee on oversight and government reform, said: “Oversight Democrats will continue to release photographs and documents from the Epstein estate to provide transparency for the American people.” “As we approach the deadline for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, these new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession. We must end this White House cover-up, and the DoJ must release the Epstein files now.”
Elsewhere, Robert F Kennedy Jr unveiled new actions aimed at eliminating transition-related medical care for minors across the US, referring to such treatments as “sex-rejecting procedures”. As part of the effort, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will initiate a rule-making process that would prevent hospitals from offering puberty blockers, hormone treatments, or surgical procedures to minors if they wish to participate in Medicare or Medicaid. The proposal would also prohibit Medicaid funds from being used to cover this type of care. Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip) together cover nearly half of all American children. More here.
New York Attorney General, Letitia James responded to the Trump administration’s new actions eliminating gender-affirming care for minors, addressing families in the state: “I know this latest proposal from this administration to cut access to gender affirming care for many youth is frightening,” she said in a video, posted to social media. “Whether you live in Brooklyn, Binghamton, Buffalo, or anywhere else in New York, and even if you don’t live in New York, I will not let this administration come for you, your doctors, or your lifesaving healthcare. As of now, nothing has changed.”
Trump also signed an executive order to move marijuana out of the most restrictive drug category, a change that would loosen limits on research and certain regulations but stop short of making marijuana legal nationwide. “I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing an Executive Order to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses,” the president said from the Oval Office. “This reclassification order will make it far easier to conduct marijuana-related medical research, allowing us to study benefits, potential dangers and future treatments,” Trump added. “It’s going to have a tremendously positive impact.” The action allows for a pilot program that reimburses Medicare patients for products containing CBD, a widely used cannabis-derived compound that does not produce a high. Under the order, marijuana would be shifted from Schedule I, a category that includes heroin, to Schedule III, which also includes ketamine. The move, however, would not legalize marijuana as some states have done, and would not change how law enforcement agencies handle marijuana-related arrests, according to senior administration officials who spoke to the New York Times. More here.
The Senate has confirmed 97 of Donald Trump’s executive and judicial nominations en bloc.
This comes after Senate Republicans changed chamber rules to allow for the bundled consideration executive nominees with a simple majority vote. Those confirmed today include state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce to be deputy US representative to the United Nation, and NY Republican congressman Anthony D’Esposito as Labor inspector general.
Brent Bozell III, who was US ambassador to South Africa, is the father of Brent Bozell IV, who was convicted of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6.
