Democrats have accused the Trump administration of attempting to “change the subject” from the Epstein files fallout by pushing a “conspiracy” about former President Barack Obama.
Tulsi Gabbard claimed that recently declassified files reveal a “treasonous conspiracy” committed by Obama and his former national security officials over the investigation surrounding Russian interference in the 2016 election.
President Donald Trump promoted the conspiracy theory over the weekend, congratulating Gabbard on Truth Social and urging her to “keep it coming.”
“Once again, @DNIGabbard is trashing her own people in an attempt to regain Trump’s favor or to distract from the Epstein scandal. Probably both," said Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut.
Trump's political rivals, meanwhile, laughed off his attempts to pin blame on them for the fallout over his administration’s handling of the Epstein investigation this weekend.
“The president blaming Democrats for this disaster, Jake, is like that CEO that got caught on camera blaming Coldplay, okay?” Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar joked to CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union, referencing a now-viral clip that made the rounds last week. “This is a problem of his own making.”
Trump earlier claimed that his polling numbers within the Republican party and MAGA have hit “record” numbers since the “Epstein hoax.”
Trump once hosted party for ‘young women’ where Epstein was the only guest, says report
Trump administration imposes limits on Mexican flights and threatens Delta alliance in trade dispute
Elon Musk leaps to Donald Trump’s defense following WSJ ‘hit piece’
JD Vance flew to Montana for secret meeting with Rupert Murdoch and Fox News executives
Key points
- Democrats accuse president of trying to change subject from Epstein with Gabbard’s Obama ‘conspiracy’
- Trump claims he's hit 'record' polling numbers with MAGA and GOP since 'Epstein hoax'
- AG Pam Bondi files motion to release Epstein grand jury transcripts
- FBI told to 'flag' mentions of Trump in Epstein files, Democrat claims in letter to Bondi
- White House knew about the Trump letter story for days - and were on a ‘f***ing warpath’ to stop it
Thanks for following; check back tomorrow for more news
02:00 , Graig GraziosiThis Independent live blog is now paused. Check back tomorrow for more live coverage.
RECAP: How the Epstein files saga unfolded during Trump's presidency
02:00 , Oliver O'ConnellHow the Epstein files saga has unfolded during Trump's presidency
Jeffrey Epstein may have been dead for six years, but the circumstances surrounding his death and the evidence supporting federal charges of child sex trafficking continue to make headlines.
Here’s how talk of the case came storming back into the national conversation.
The Epstein Files: How the saga unfolded within Trump’s administration
Trump 'grew tired of defending Pam Bondi' over Epstein files
01:30 , Rachel DobkinPresident Donald Trump has grown tired of defending Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of government files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and wants her to take responsibility for fixing the situation, NBC News reported, citing four people familiar with the matter.
Trump has stood by his attorney general despite the backlash the administration has faced after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo earlier this month saying there was never any client list from the wealthy financier, which some suspect would expose powerful people who may have partaken in Epstein’s crimes.
“I do think that he likes and respects Pam, but she has without question caused some headaches for them,” one of NBC News’ sources said. “At the end of the day, at this point she is almost assuredly is just doing what she is told, so I believe she is very safe, but has had missteps.”
When asked about the White House’s opinion of Bondi’s job performance, one senior White House official told the outlet they thought the situation had “stabilized.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to the Independent: “Attorney General Pam Bondi is working tirelessly to end the weaponization that has rotted our justice system, remove violent criminals from our streets, and help President Trump in making America safe again. The president is appreciative of her efforts.”
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
ANALYSIS: Laura Loomer’s witch hunt just made Trump’s Epstein problems even worse
01:00 , Rhian LubinLaura Loomer re-entered the Trump White House’s periphery this week at precisely the worst possible moment for a president trying to stop a firestorm from spreading.
As Donald Trump continues battling the blaze of controversy surrounding his administration’s reversal on the issue of releasing a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators, the so-called “Epstein Client List,” Loomer’s own contribution to the mess may end up letting what little air is left out of the president’s tires, writes John Bowden.
Read on...
Laura Loomer’s witch hunt just made Trump’s Epstein problems even worse
Epstein’s former lawyer wants Ghislaine Maxwell released so that she can testify
00:30 , Rhian LubinA former attorney for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein says his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, should be granted immunity so she can testify about his crimes.
In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Epstein’s former lawyer Alan Dershowitz said Maxwell “absolutely” should testify as she was most closely involved with Epstein.
“She knows everything. I mean, she is everything,” Dershowitz said.
“She was the one who arranged all the trips and travel of all the people who went to the island, who went to the house and went to the place in New Mexico, who went to his place in Paris,” Dershowitz said of Maxwell.
Isabel Keane reports.
Epstein’s former lawyer wants Ghislaine Maxwell freed to testify
ICYMI: Trump once hosted party for ‘young women’ where Epstein was the only guest, says report
00:00 , Rhian LubinDonald Trump once hosted a party with “young women” where the disgraced late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein “was the only other guest,” according to a report.
The president is under pressure to release all files relating to the Epstein case, which he has so far refused to do despite a 2024 election promise.
The anecdote was part of a New York Times piece on Saturday entitled “Inside the Long Friendship Between Trump and Epstein.”
Read on...
Trump once hosted party for ‘young women’ where Epstein was only guest, says report
Could Pam Bondi have tried Jeffrey Epstein while she was Florida Attorney General?
23:30 , Rhian LubinPam Bondi “could have tried” Jeffrey Epstein while she was Florida Attorney General between 2011 and 2019, according to a law professor.
Before joining the Trump administration, Bondi, who represented Trump during his first impeachment proceedings in 2019, served as Florida’s first female attorney general.
The Palm Beach Post asked the question: “Should Bondi have looked into Epstein's crimes between the time of his jail release in 2009 and the filing of the criminal charges in 2019, when many have alleged that he sexually assaulted hundreds more?”
Read more below.
Pam Bondi ‘could have tried Epstein’ while Florida AG, law professor says
Epstein accuser claims she met Trump in disgraced financier’s office in ‘troubling encounter’ - report
23:00 , Rhian LubinOne of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers claimed she met Donald Trump in the convicted pedophile’s New York office in what was described as a “troubling encounter,” according to a report.
Artist Maria Farmer said she urged the FBI to look into people in the disgraced financier’s social circle, including the president, after the alleged encounter in the 90s, she told The New York Times.
Farmer and her younger sister Annie, who testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 sex trafficking trial, have spoken publicly about their ordeal with Epstein before. But her account now sheds light on how the Epstein files could contain material that is “embarrassing or politically problematic” to the president, the Times reports.
Read on...
Epstein accuser ‘met Trump in disgraced financier’s office in troubling encounter’
Trump lashes out again at Wall Street Journal
22:30 , Rhian LubinPresident Donald Trump has lashed out at the Wall Street Journal again, but not over its Jeffrey Epstein report.
The Journal reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was the one who made the case to Trump against firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
But the president has denied the reporting, claiming: “People don’t explain it to me, I explain to them!”
“The Wall Street Journal ran a typically untruthful story today by saying that Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, explained to me that firing Jerome “Too Late” Powell, the Worst Federal Reserve Chairman in History, would be bad for the Market,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday.
“Nobody had to explain that to me. I know better than anybody what’s good for the Market, and what’s good for the U.S.A. If it weren’t for me, the Market wouldn’t be at Record Highs right now, it probably would have CRASHED! So, get your information CORRECT. People don’t explain to me, I explain to them!”
What does Donald Trump have to prove to win his WSJ lawsuit over ‘fake’ Epstein card?
22:00 , Isabel KeanePresident Donald Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal after the newspaper published the president’s alleged birthday card to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – but what will he have to prove to win the case?
The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court on Friday names the paper’s owners, including right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch, as well as the paper's parent companies, Dow Jones and News Corp, and two Wall Street Journal reporters, claiming they defamed Trump.
Weeks after the White House attempted to dismiss the so-called Epstein files as a Democratic “hoax,” the Journal published Trump’s alleged 50th birthday card message to Epstein. The 2003 note was described as including a sexually suggestive drawing and a birthday wish that read: “may every day be another wonderful secret.”
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What does Donald Trump have to prove to win his WSJ lawsuit over Epstein card?
GOP Rep. Tim Burchett: 'Just because somebody flew on a plane doesn’t mean they’re a daggum pedophile'
21:30 , Rhian LubinGOP Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee told ABC’s This Week that he “worries” about “innocent names” being published in the Epstein files.
He said that “just because somebody flew on a plane doesn’t mean they’re a daggum pedophile.”
“I have a lot of wealthy friends, and they fly on people’s planes. And their plane will be down, and they’ll say, ‘Hey, we’re going somewhere, and we’ve got an extra seat, do you want to go?’ And they don’t even know the person on the plane,” he said. “So, you know, that’s one of the things I worry about too.”
“But I worry about some of those innocent names being out on that too, as well,” he added.
GOP Rep. Tim Burchett again called for the release of the DOJ’s evidence against the late accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, part of a growing cadre of Republicans calling for transparency in the case.
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 20, 2025
Read more: https://t.co/2ZWcObkVbr pic.twitter.com/Bcch2Ww9cG
Request to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts likely to disappoint, ex-prosecutors say
21:00 , APA Justice Department request to unseal grand jury transcripts in the prosecution of chronic sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend is unlikely to produce much, if anything, to satisfy the public’s appetite for new revelations about the financier’s crimes, former federal prosecutors say.
Attorney Sarah Krissoff, an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, called the request in the prosecutions of Epstein and imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell “a distraction.”
“The president is trying to present himself as if he’s doing something here and it really is nothing,” Krissoff told The Associated Press in a weekend interview.
Read on...
Request to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts likely to disappoint, ex-prosecutors say
JD Vance flew to Montana for secret meeting with Rupert Murdoch and Fox News executives
20:30 , Justin BaragonaJD Vance took a quick day trip to Montana Tuesday afternoon to speak to right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, who is the chief of both Fox News and its sister corporation News Corp., which publishes the New York Post and Wall Street Journal.
According to the Associated Press, the vice president’s secret meeting also included several executives from Fox News, the conservative cable giant that has largely carried Donald Trump’s water and helped staff up the president’s current administration.
A source familiar with the trip also confirmed to The Independent that the vice president spoke to both Murdochs and a group of executives from the right-wing network at the Murdoch family ranch near Dillon, Montana.
Read the full story.
JD Vance flew to Montana for secret meeting with Rupert Murdoch and Fox News execs
Democrats laugh off Trump attempts to blame them for Epstein fallout
19:30 , John BowdenDonald Trump’s political rivals seemed unshaken by his attempts to pin blame on them for the fallout over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation this weekend.
As the president and his allies leveled allegations about the Biden Justice Department supposedly tampering with evidence to link Trump to the convicted pedophile, Democrats remained fixed on calling for the full release of the Justice Department’s cache of evidence and investigation.
Even as news broke this past week that Trump had instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release grand jury testimony from the investigations into Epstein and his mistress, those same Democrats called the move an attempt to cover up the president’s involvement, given that it constituted less than full transparency.
Read on...
Democrats laugh off Trump attempts to blame them for Epstein fallout
Democrats laugh off Trump's efforts to blame them for Epstein files fallout
19:00 , Rhian LubinDemocrats have laughed off Trump’s efforts to blame them for the Epstein files fallout.
Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar pushed back at the assertion that her party was to blame on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday morning.
“The president blaming Democrats for this disaster, Jake, is like that CEO that got caught on camera blaming Coldplay,” Klobuchar told Jake Tapper.
“OK, like this is his making. He was president when Epstein got indicted for these charges and went to prison. He was president when Epstein committed suicide.”
Tulsi Gabbard openly accuses Obama of longstanding effort to overthrow Trump in coup
18:30 , Rhian LubinTulsi Gabbard has openly accused the Obama administration of launching a “years-long coup” against President Donald Trump in an attempt to subvert his 2016 election win.
Gabbard released declassified emails Friday and claimed that they reveal a “treasonous conspiracy” committed by former President Barack Obama and his officials over the investigation surrounding Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Trump pushed the “conspiracy” over the weekend on Truth Social by sharing an interview Gabbard gave Fox News on the allegations. He also congratulated Gabbard in a separate post Saturday.
Democrats have blasted the accusation as an attempt to “change the subject” from the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Read the full story below.
Tulsi Gabbard openly accuses Obama of longstanding effort to overthrow Trump in coup
Watch: 69% of Americans think the government is hiding Epstein client list - CNN
17:30 , Rhian LubinCNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten says that 69 percent of Americans think that the federal government is hiding Epstein’s “client list,” despite the DOJ’s announcement that it doesn’t exist.
Watch the clip below for the analysis.
Enten: 69% of Americans agree that the federal government is, in fact, hiding Epstein's alleged client list… pic.twitter.com/AI9xY3RcyI
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 20, 2025
Report: Trump once hosted party for ‘young women’ where Epstein was the only guest
17:00 , Rhian LubinDonald Trump once hosted a party with “young women” where the disgraced late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein “was the only other guest,” according to a report.
The president is under pressure to release all files relating to the Epstein case, which he has so far refused to do despite a 2024 election promise.
The anecdote was part of a New York Times piece on Saturday entitled “Inside the Long Friendship Between Trump and Epstein.”
Read the full story below.
Trump once hosted party for ‘young women’ where Epstein was only guest, says report
How much damage has the Epstein files fallout done to Trump?
16:30 , Rhian LubinMAGA’s anger was mounting last week over the Trump administration’s earlier announcement that it would not be releasing the Epstein files after all.
Their outrage did not die down as Trump grew more frustrated with his fanbase.
Then, a Wall Street Journal report published Thursday about a birthday card Trump allegedly wrote to the disgraced financier changed things.
The report about a bawdy message and doodle from Trump, among an album of letters celebrating Epstein’s 50th birthday, prompted the president to sue the Journal, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, and two journalists.
Steve Bannon has said that the report has united Trump and his supporters once again.
“MAGA is now united, because they can see there’s a common enemy. They see exactly what the reality is — it’s the Deep State, with their media partners, led by Murdoch, that’s out to destroy Trump,” Bannon told The Washington Post.
Trump shares Tulsi Gabbard's accusations that Obama administration launched 'coup'
18:00 , Rhian LubinTrump is now changing gears and posting about accusations pushed by his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, that the Obama administration “politicized and weaponized” intelligence surrounding the 2016 presidential election and the investigation into Russian interference.
The president shared a clip of Gabbard on Fox News, where she accused former President Obama of launching a “years-long coup” against Trump.
“We had, in President Obama and his leadership team, people who did not want to accept the will of the American people in electing Donald Trump in 2016,” Gabbard said. “And therefore cooked up this treasonous conspiracy to…effectively launch a years-long coup against the sitting President of the United States.”
Trump hails first six months of second term 'most consequential periods of any president'
16:00 , Rhian LubinTrump has hailed the first six months of his second term as “the most consequential periods of any president.”
What do the polls say on Trump's handling of the Epstein files?
15:26 , Rhian LubinAccording to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 54 percent of Americans disapproved of how Trump was handling the issue, while just 17 percent approved.
Republicans were split, with 35 percent approving and 29 percent disapproving. Of those polled, 35 percent were unsure or did not answer the question.
Similarly, according to Quinnipiac University polling this week, 36 percent of Republicans disapproved of the way Trump was handling the Epstein files fallout, while 40 percent approved.
A CNN/SSRS poll also found that 40 percent of Republicans are dissatisfied, while 38 percent said it didn’t matter to them.
President claims he’s hit ‘record’ MAGA poll numbers since ‘Epstein hoax’
15:08 , Rhian LubinPresident Donald Trump has claimed that he’s hit “record” MAGA poll numbers since the “Jeffrey Epstein hoax.”
Trump did not refer to specific polling in his post.
Timeline of Trump's relationship with Epstein
13:59 , Athena StavrouPresident Donald Trump had socialized with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein decades ago when he was a New York real estate mogul.
Trump’s past connection with Epstein has been under scrutiny as of late. Here is a timeline of their relationship, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal:
- 1992: Trump and Epstein are taped by NBC partying at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
- 2002: Trump tells New York magazine, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy.”
- 2008: Epstein pleads guilty in Florida to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. Trump has said his relationship with Epstein ended before Epstein pleaded guilty to the sex offense.
- 2019: Epstein is arrested on federal charges related to the sexual abuse of dozens of minor girls, and Trump, who is in his first term as president, said he hadn’t talked to Epstein for roughly 15 years. He said in the Oval Office at the time, “I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
Watch: Every time Donald Trump has cried 'hoax'
13:24 , Athena StavrouANALYSIS: Laura Loomer’s witch hunt just made Trump’s Epstein problems even worse
12:50 , Athena StavrouJohn Bowden writes:
Laura Loomer re-entered the Trump White House’s periphery this week at precisely the worst possible moment for a president trying to stop a firestorm from spreading.
As Donald Trump continues battling the blaze of controversy surrounding his administration’s reversal on the issue of releasing a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators, the so-called “Epstein Client List,” Loomer’s own contribution to the mess may end up letting what little air is left out of the president’s tires.
Read on...
Laura Loomer’s witch hunt just made Trump’s Epstein problems even worse
Trump adminsitration reviewed SpaceX's government contracts Musk feud - reports
12:13 , Athena StavrouThe Trump administration reportedly reviewed SpaceX's government contracts after Elon Musk’s feud with the president.
According to the Wall Street Journal, US officials determined that most of the contracts were critival to defence department and Nasa missions.
The two former-friends had a public fallout in June.
Why is Trump suing Rupert Murdoch?
11:37 , Daniel KeanePresident Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit in a Florida federal court against Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, Dow Jones, and two Wall Street Journal journalists.
The lawsuit alleges that The Wall Street Journal published a fabricated 50th birthday letter, purportedly from Trump to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which included a sexually suggestive drawing.
Trump denies authoring or signing any such letter or drawing, claiming the story was "concocted" to "malign" him and that no authentic document exists.
Read our full story here.
Watch: Epstein's ex-girflriend says he was once 'very close' with Trump
10:25 , Daniel KeaneEpstein’s former model girlfriend claims disgraced financier and sex offender was once ‘best friends’ with Trump
Saturday 19 July 2025 22:05 , Graig GraziosiDonald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were “best friends” who were “up to no good,” a model who dated the disgraced financier claims, as the president tries to distance himself from the Epstein case.
They were “best friends,” Stacey Williams, who dated Epstein for several months in the 90s, told CNN on Friday evening. Last October in an interview with The Guardian, Williams publicly accused Trump of groping her in Trump Tower in 1993 in front of Epstein. He has denied these allegations.
“That was his bro, that was his wingman,” she said of Trump to Epstein.
Throughout the four or five months she dated the financier, Trump’s name came up a lot, Williams recalled to CNN’s Brianna Keilar. “The only friend that he would mention every time we saw each other or had a phone conversation was Donald,” she said. “They were very close and they were up to no good.”
READ MORE:
Epstein’s ex-girlfriend claims disgraced financier was once ‘best friends’ with Trump
Pam Bondi “could have tried” Jeffrey Epstein while she was Florida Attorney General between 2011 and 2019, according to a law professor.
President Donald Trump’s embattled Attorney General has been mired in controversy over the release of the Epstein files, which she claimed were sitting on her desk in February.
The Department of Justice announced on July 6 that no more evidence in the case would be released and that the disgraced financier did not have a “client list.”
READ MORE:
Pam Bondi ‘could have tried Epstein’ while Florida AG, law professor says
JD Vance flew to Montana for secret meeting with Rupert Murdoch and Fox News executives
Saturday 19 July 2025 19:20 , Graig GraziosiJD Vance took a quick day trip to Montana Tuesday afternoon to speak to right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, who is the chief of both Fox News and its sister corporation News Corp., which publishes the New York Post and Wall Street Journal.
According to the Associated Press, the vice president’s secret meeting also included several executives from Fox News, the conservative cable giant that has largely carried Donald Trump’s water and helped staff up the president’s current administration.
A source familiar with the trip also confirmed to The Independent that the vice president spoke to both Murdochs and a group of executives from the right-wing network at the Murdoch family ranch near Dillon, Montana.
READ MORE:
JD Vance flew to Montana for secret meeting with Rupert Murdoch and Fox News execs
WATCH: Dick Durbin: FBI ordered to flag mentions of Trump in Epstein documents
Saturday 19 July 2025 18:52 , Graig GraziosiTrump tries to save face on Iran after NBC News report claims missile attack's effectiveness was overstated
Saturday 19 July 2025 17:30 , Graig GraziosiOn Saturday, President Donald Trump posted a defense of his missile attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. His post comes after a NBC News report on Thursday citing current and former US officials who said the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities isn’t as bad as Trump and his people have suggested.
“All three nuclear sites in Iran were completely destroyed and/or OBLITERATED,” Trump wrote. “It would take years to bring them back into service and, if Iran wanted to do so, they would be much better off starting anew, in three different locations, prior to those sites being obliterated, should they decide to do so. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Republican Senator Roger Marshall winks at conspiracy theorists, says Trump needs "some grace"
Saturday 19 July 2025 16:58 , Graig GraziosiRepublican Senator Roger Marshall spoke to Fox News Digital and accused the Democrats and the “legacy media” of not caring about Jeffrey Epstein information until it could be used to bludgeon President Donald Trump.
He then went on to suggest that, beyond the alleged hypocrisy, "there may be a lot more going on than meets the eye."
It is this kind of conspiracy pandering by politicians that creates situations like the one Trump is in right now; the president promised to reveal information that may only exist in the imaginations of conspiracy theorists, and now he’s paying the price.
Marshall at least hedged his bets by insisting that he had no special information, but then proceeded to speculate that Trump’s inability — or refusal — to deliver on Epstein information may somehow be related to national security.
"I think something else is going on that may be affecting national security," he told the network. “I think President Trump deserves a little bit of grace here. But hopefully, at the end of the day, everything will be released. I'm all for the transparency."
Trump: 'Nothing will be good enough' for 'troublemakers' calling for Epstein file release
Saturday 19 July 2025 16:04 , Athena StavrouIn his latest Truth Social post, Donald Trump said he had asked the the justice department to release all grand jury testimony in Jeffrey Epstein’s case.
But he added that: “Nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request”
He wrote: “I have asked the Justice Department to release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval. With that being said, and even if the Court gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request. It will always be more, more, more. MAGA!”
The Epstein List: Full list of names from unsealed court records
Saturday 19 July 2025 15:45 , Athena StavrouIn January 2024, a court unsealed nearly 1,000 pages of documents collected as evidence in a lawsuit filed by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell.
Giuffre died by suicide on April 26 at her home in Neergabby, Australia.
Among more than 100 people mentioned in those documents were Trump, Prince Andrew, and former President Bill Clinton.
Being named in these documents does not indicate any wrongdoing related to Epstein or anyone else. The list includes many of Epstein’s accusers and alleged victims, as well as people with only tangential connections to Epstein who were pulled into the lawsuit against Maxwell.
While judges, court staff, and legal representatives are excluded, here are some of the names that do appear in the legal records connected to Epstein:
The Epstein List: Full list of names revealed in unsealed court records
Trump claims he never ‘wrote a picture'
Saturday 19 July 2025 14:48 , Athena StavrouPresident Donald Trump has strongly pushed back against the bombshell Wall Street Journal report that alleged he drew a “bawdy” sketch in a birthday message to celebrate convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday.
“I never wrote a picture in my life,” he said in a rebuttal to the newspaper, vehemently denying having anything to do with the card.
In a Truth Social tirade late Thursday, the president declared, “I don’t draw pictures.”
Unfortunately for Trump, as James Liddell reports, that’s not quite true...
Trump claims he never ‘wrote a picture.’ His sketchy Epstein lie has now been exposed
Who was Jeffrey Epstein?
Saturday 19 July 2025 14:06 , Athena StavrouThe Brooklyn-born Epstein, a former high school math teacher who later founded consulting and financial management firms, cultivated a wide circle of rich and famous friends and associates.
He was known for socializing with politicians and royalty, including Trump, Democratic President Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Britain's Prince Andrew. Some friends and clients flew on his private plane and visited his private Caribbean island.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state felony prostitution charge after federal prosecutors agreed not to charge him with sex trafficking of minors. He served 13 months in jail and was required to register as a sex offender. That punishment is now widely considered too lenient.
In July 2019, the Justice Department charged Epstein with sex trafficking minors, including sexually exploiting and abusing dozens of girls, in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005. He pleaded not guilty.
Epstein died on August 10, 2019, at age 66 by hanging himself in a Manhattan jail cell, an autopsy concluded. He was never tried on the 2019 charges.
Watch: Epstein's ex-girlfriend says he was once 'very close' with Trump
Saturday 19 July 2025 13:32 , Athena StavrouWhite House knew about the Trump letter story for days - and were on a ‘f***ing warpath’ to stop it
Saturday 19 July 2025 12:00 , Rachel DobkinThe White House engaged in an unsuccessful pressure campaign to try and stop the Wall Street Journal from releasing a bombshell story about President Donald Trump sending a birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein this past week, according to a report.
Amid intense public criticism around the so-called “Epstein Files”, White House officials and staffers were on “a f****** warpath” to try to prevent the Journal from publishing the alleged lewd letter, which contained a drawing of the outline of a naked woman, Rolling Stone reported Thursday.
Trump directed his staff to prioritize the matter. Staff reportedly reached out to several contacts and pitched different angles to try to get the Journal, which is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, to drop the story.
Ultimately, the story was published, which only intensified scrutiny over the administration’s handling of the files.
Read more from Ariana Baio:
White House was on a ‘f***ing warpath’ to stop Trump letter story for days
Pranksters fill Trump Tower gift shop with merch featuring pictures of Epstein with the president
Saturday 19 July 2025 11:00 , Rachel DobkinPranksters filled Trump Tower’s gift shop with merchandise featuring pictures of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein with the president.
The Good Liars, a political comedy duo of Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, posted photos of postcards with an old photograph of Donald Trump and Epstein they say were among the souvenirs at the president’s Manhattan skyscraper.
The duo confirmed to The Independent they were responsible for the prank. The Independent reached out to the Trump Tower store and a representative declined to confirm the incident or comment further.
A similar prank was recently carried out in London when activists put the same old photo of Trump and Epstein on a bus shelter near the U.S. embassy ahead of the president’s state visit to the United Kingdom in September, according to an Instagram post from the group Everyone Hates Elon.
Read on...
Pranksters fill Trump Tower gift shop with pictures of Epstein with the president
Timeline of Trump's relationship with Epstein
Saturday 19 July 2025 10:00 , Rachel DobkinPresident Donald Trump had socialized with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein decades ago when he was a New York real estate mogul.
In his second presidential term, Trump has been embroiled in controversy surrounding the feds’ unreleased files on Epstein, a convicted sex offender who faced federal sex trafficking charges when he died in jail in 2019.
Trump’s past connection with Epstein has also been under scrutiny as of late. Here is a timeline of their relationship, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal:
- 1992: Trump and Epstein are taped by NBC partying at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
- 2002: Trump tells New York magazine, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy.”
- 2008: Epstein pleads guilty in Florida to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. Trump has said his relationship with Epstein ended before Epstein pleaded guilty to the sex offense.
- 2019: Epstein is arrested on federal charges related to the sexual abuse of dozens of minor girls, and Trump, who is in his first term as president, said he hadn’t talked to Epstein for roughly 15 years. He said in the Oval Office at the time, “I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
ICYMI: Poster of Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein put up in London ahead of state visit
Saturday 19 July 2025 09:00 , Rachel DobkinA poster of Donald Trump with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was put up in London ahead of the president’s state visit to the United Kingdom in September.
ANALYSIS: The Wall Street Journal’s Trump story has united MAGA on the Epstein saga over their universal hatred of one thing
Saturday 19 July 2025 08:00 , Oliver O'ConnellJustin Baragona writes:
More than a week after Donald Trump’s base looked like it might be fracturing over the Justice Department’s “no client list” Jeffrey Epstein memo, MAGA world got its “perfect offramp” in the ongoing saga thanks to the Wall Street Journal’s latest bombshell.
While on the surface the WSJ’s story – which the president fought tooth and nail to keep from being published – should have inflamed the turmoil on the right as it further exposed just how close the president once was with the deceased sex trafficker, it instead offered MAGA pundits and influencers the chance to join Trump in lambasting their shared enemy – the mainstream press.
Read on...
WSJ’s Trump story unites MAGA on Epstein in their hatred of one thing
Trump’s $9bn clawback against PBS and NPR may have bought him a post-summer government shutdown
Saturday 19 July 2025 07:00 , Oliver O'ConnellAll of the chaos caused by the bombshell report in The Wall Street Journal that President Donald Trump sent a bawdy 50th birthday note to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein masked the fact he received a significant win.
Republicans successfully passed legislation in the late night to claw back $9 billion meant for foreign aid, as well as for PBS and NPR funding.
Eric Garcia reports on how Republicans achieved something on their wishlist for decades... and what might come next.
Trump’s $9B clawback against PBS and NPR may bring him a government shutdown
How the Epstein files saga has unfolded during Trump's presidency
Saturday 19 July 2025 06:00 , Oliver O'ConnellJeffrey Epstein may have been dead for six years, but the circumstances surrounding his death and the evidence supporting federal charges of child sex trafficking continue to make headlines.
Here’s how talk of the case came storming back into the national conversation.
The Epstein Files: How the saga unfolded within Trump’s administration
Flashback: Fox News asks Trump if he'll declassify the Epstein Files in 2024
Saturday 19 July 2025 05:00 , Rachel DobkinThe Epstein List: Full list of names from unsealed court records
Saturday 19 July 2025 04:30 , Oliver O'ConnellIn January 2024, a court unsealed nearly 1,000 pages of documents collected as evidence in a lawsuit filed by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell.
Giuffre died by suicide on April 26 at her home in Neergabby, Australia.
Among more than 100 people mentioned in those documents were Trump, Prince Andrew, and former President Bill Clinton.
Being named in these documents does not indicate any wrongdoing related to Epstein or anyone else. The list includes many of Epstein’s accusers and alleged victims, as well as people with only tangential connections to Epstein who were pulled into the lawsuit against Maxwell.
While judges, court staff, and legal representatives are excluded, here are some of the names that do appear in the legal records connected to Epstein:
The Epstein List: Full list of names revealed in unsealed court records
Trump wants the Epstein grand jury transcripts released. That’s a tiny portion of the files his administration has on the case
Saturday 19 July 2025 04:00 , Rachel DobkinThe Trump administration has asked a judge to unseal grand jury transcripts in Jeffrey Epstein’s case. But that’s just a fraction of the so-called “Epstein files” that have torn the MAGA movement’s world wide open.
Public pressure has mounted in the days since the Justice Department announced an anticlimactic end to the Epstein saga, stating there was no evidence to support a “client list” of associates, whom some claim Epstein blackmailed, over their alleged involvement in his trafficking scheme.
For days, the White House has been consumed by the Epstein uproar with conservative commentators and prominent Republicans alike demanding increased transparency around the late disgraced financier’s case.
The president, who campaigned on releasing the so-called “Epstein files”, alleged they were a “hoax” made up by Democrats.
Read more from Kelly Rissman:
Trump wants Epstein grand jury transcripts released — a tiny portion of the files
Trump tired of defending Pam Bondi's handling of Epstein files: report
Saturday 19 July 2025 03:14 , Rachel DobkinPresident Donald Trump has grown tired of defending Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of government files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and wants her to take responsibility for fixing the situation, NBC News reported, citing four people familiar with the matter.
Trump has stood by his attorney general despite the backlash the administration has faced after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo earlier this month saying there was never any client list from the wealthy financier, which some suspect would expose powerful people who may have partaken in Epstein’s crimes.
“I do think that he likes and respects Pam, but she has without question caused some headaches for them,” one of NBC News’ sources said. “At the end of the day, at this point she is almost assuredly is just doing what she is told, so I believe she is very safe, but has had missteps.”
When asked about the White House’s opinion of Bondi’s job performance, one senior White House official told the outlet they thought the situation had “stabilized.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to the Independent: “Attorney General Pam Bondi is working tirelessly to end the weaponization that has rotted our justice system, remove violent criminals from our streets, and help President Trump in making America safe again. The president is appreciative of her efforts.”
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
This week in headlines: The Epstein files
Saturday 19 July 2025 02:00 , Rachel DobkinHere are some top headlines this week on the controversy surrounding the government’s files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein:
Monday:
Epstein Files spark unprecedented division between president and MAGA base
Tuesday:
Trump claims Epstein files were made up by Obama, Biden, and Comey
Wednesday:
Trump rants that his ‘PAST’ supporters have bought into Jeffrey Epstein ‘Hoax’
Thursday:
Trump asks Pam Bondi to release certain files on Epstein: ‘Subject to court approval’
Friday:
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Trump sues Murdoch and WSJ for $10B over Epstein birthday card expose
Release of grand jury transcripts still needs judge's approval — and there are strict rules
Saturday 19 July 2025 01:00 , Oliver O'ConnellThe notice on the federal court docket in Florida concerning President Donald Trump’s law suit against Rupert Murdoch and his companies and publication, appeared moments before Attorney General Pam Bondi and deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche filed a motion in federal court in Manhattan asking a judge to unseal grand jury testimony in Epstein’s case in an apparent attempt to quell concerns from the president’s allies that the Department of Justice was participating in a cover-up.
The release of that testimony — which amounts to only a fraction of the evidence in the so-called “Epstein files” — would still need approval from a judge, who must navigate strict rules surrounding grand jury secrecy and protections for witnesses and victims.
That could take some time.
The administration has declined to release a separate and likely much larger tranche of evidence that was mentioned in an index in what the administration labelled “phase one” of the release of evidence earlier this year, when far-right influencers were invited to the White House to receive binders of mostly previously released documents in the case.
Trump announces his 'powerhouse' lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal after bombshell Jeffrey Epstein report
Saturday 19 July 2025 00:07 , Rachel DobkinDonald Trump announced Friday evening his team filed a “powerhouse” lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal after it published a bombshell report claiming the president gave the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a bawdy birthday card in 2003.
“We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS ‘article’ in the useless ‘rag’ that is, The Wall Street Journal,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The lawsuit, which includes defendants such as media mogul Rupert Murdoch, seeks $10 billion.
ANALYSIS: Why isn’t Fox News covering the Wall Street Journal’s bombshell scoop of the Trump-Epstein letter?
Friday 18 July 2025 23:35 , Oliver O'ConnellJustin Baragona writes:
The political media world was thrown into chaos Thursday night when the Wall Street Journal published a bombshell story about a birthday letter Donald Trump apparently wrote to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, prompting the president to sue the publication and Rupert Murdoch, the paper’s owner and founder of Fox News.
On Friday, the president filed a libel lawsuit against the right-wing media mogul and The Wall Street Journal’s parent companies, News Corp and Dow Jones, following the newspaper’s publication of Trump’s alleged birthday letter to Epstein.
However, regular consumers of Fox News may be oblivious to this blockbuster report – that sparked outcry from MAGA supporters and seemingly prompted the president to ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “pertinent” grand jury testimony in the Epstein case – because the conservative cable giant has avoided mention of it.
Continue reading...
Why isn’t Fox News covering sister publication’s scoop of the Trump-Epstein letter?
Trump claims he never ‘wrote a picture'
Friday 18 July 2025 23:13 , Oliver O'ConnellPresident Donald Trump has strongly pushed back against the bombshell Wall Street Journal report that alleged he drew a “bawdy” sketch in a birthday message to celebrate convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday.
“I never wrote a picture in my life,” he said in a rebuttal to the newspaper, vehemently denying having anything to do with the card.
In a Truth Social tirade late Thursday, the president declared, “I don’t draw pictures.”
Unfortunately for Trump, as James Liddell reports, that’s not quite true...
Trump claims he never ‘wrote a picture.’ His sketchy Epstein lie has now been exposed
Democrats demand answers from Fox News on edits to Trump’s Epstein comments
Friday 18 July 2025 23:10 , Oliver O'ConnellThe ranking Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the top executives at Fox News demanding answers about the right-wing network’s editing of a 2024 interview with Donald Trump, claiming it misled the public about the then-candidate’s stance on releasing documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Justin Baragona reports.
House Democrats demand answers from Fox News on edits to Trump’s Epstein comments
ANALYSIS: Laura Loomer’s witch hunt just made Trump’s Epstein problems even worse
Friday 18 July 2025 22:50 , Oliver O'ConnellJohn Bowden writes:
Laura Loomer re-entered the Trump White House’s periphery this week at precisely the worst possible moment for a president trying to stop a firestorm from spreading.
As Donald Trump continues battling the blaze of controversy surrounding his administration’s reversal on the issue of releasing a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators, the so-called “Epstein Client List,” Loomer’s own contribution to the mess may end up letting what little air is left out of the president’s tires.
Read on...
Laura Loomer’s witch hunt just made Trump’s Epstein problems even worse
