Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that he will force a vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files after the House's August recess by partnering with Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna (CA) on a discharge petition that would commandeer the Speaker's power over the schedule.
Massie expressed a lack of satisfaction with the information released so far and gave host Jonathan Karl details about what he wanted to see happen.
He said, “Well, I think we should get a lot more than just the book. Let’s get the financial records of the estate, follow the money, as they say up here. We should look at the plea-bargain, open that up, see what was the deal, what was the deal that was cut."
Massie told Karl he thinks the powers that be are holding out on the public in regards to Epstein.
"I think there’s a lot more than just that letter," he argued. "That letter is also sort of representative of something that’s embarrassing but not illegal, another reason why these files may be sealed and stay sealed, but we’re going to force a vote on this when we get back from the August recess. Ro Khanna and I are using a procedure called a discharge petition whereby if we get 218 votes, and we’re well on our way to that, 218 signatures, then we can force the vote.”
Karl pointed out that Massie could not force a vote without some Republican support.
Massie said, “If every Democrat signs this, I have 12 Republican co-sponsors and I only need six to sign it.”
But Karl was somewhat doubtful that he could get that much support because it would take control of the House schedule away from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and would set up a power struggle within the party.
It's one thing to co-sponsor legislation, but it's another to take the kind of forceful action that would be required.
Massie appeared to be counting on the public pressure that has been manifesting itself since Attorney General Pam Bondi signaled that the administration was trying to move beyond Epstein without releasing any more information.
He said, “I think the pressure will build over August recess. I don’t think it will dissipate like the speaker hopes that it will. If merely just half the people who have co-sponsored this legislation follow through and sign it, then it’s going to come to the floor for a vote.”
The refusal to release the entirety of the Epstein files has led to speculation among people on both sides of the political aisle about whether President Donald Trump is named in the files as an associate of Epstein's.
The two were photographed together several times a few decades ago, but had an apparent falling out at some point before Epstein's first arrest for sexual misconduct in 2006.
Trump said on Monday that he ended his relationship with Epstein because he repeatedly "stole" people who had worked for Trump. “I threw him out and that was it. I’m glad I did, if you want to know the truth,” Trump added.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) just got hit with a massive fine for breaking House ethics rules related to her infamous appearance at the 2021 Met Gala.
The House Ethics Committee ordered the leftist star to pay $2,000 after an investigation found that she broke House rules when underpaying for certain gifts and apparel, constituting a violation of ethics rules.
The Committee's report found that AOC “paid under fair market value for clothing and accessories,” and was ordered to pay $2,733 to vendors for the additional value of her" clothing, including the infamous dress that ironically read, "Tax the rich."
Nothing screams socialism and working class awareness like attending the Met Gala with the nation's elites and wearing a dress worth thousands that most Americans could never afford.
AOC's appearance at the Met Gala was a prime example of nauseating "champagne socialism" that many rich leftists are involved in. Enjoying lavish lifestyles while pretending to be warriors of the working class.
The report explained, "The Committee determined that Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s conduct was inconsistent with House Rules, laws, and other standards of conduct with respect to her acceptance of certain goods and services associated with her attendance at the 2021 Met Gala, and her delay in making appropriate payment for their receipt."
This outcome represents a cathartic moment of justice for conservatives who had to witness AOC's outrageous stunt and watch her get away with it for years.
The report continued by saying, "While the Committee did not find that Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s violations were knowing and willful, she nonetheless received impermissible gifts and must bear responsibility for the other conduct that occurred with respect to the delays in payment."
The "fair market value" of AOC's entire Met Gala outfit came out to an astounding $3,724.04. Talk about bouguisie excess and materialist signalling.
What's worse is that AOC only paid $990.76, which suggests that this extremely expensive outfit was presented mostly as a gift, which is what got the House Ethics Committee involved amid conservatives' fuming outrage.
The ticket to the Met Gala alone was worth $35,000, which prompted the American Accountability Foundation to lodge an ethics complaint against the self-styled far-leftist AOC.
AOC's "Tax the rich" dress was designed by Aurora James, of Brother Vellies, a luxury fashion brand. There is no industry more materialistic and capitalist than high-fashion, and yet AOC saw no irony in wearing a dress with that message.
AOC doesn't seem to understand that she is "the rich," as are the rest of the nation's elite, who attend the Met Gala every year to engage in the typical self-congratulatory celebrations of not being one of the masses.
Socialism is a revolting anti-American ideology on its own, but fashionable champagne socialism is an altogether different monster. It's long past time that AOC be recognized for the fraud that she truly is.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has dismissed multiple lawsuits aiming to stop President Donald Trump's move to tear down USAID.
The Trump administration is tearing down USAID, or the U.S. Agency for International Development, as a result of decades of corruption and financial waste of taxpayer dollars.
Furthermore, the Trump administration is moving all of USAID's more valuable functions under the control of the State Department, putting an end to the unaccountable pseudo-independence that USAID has enjoyed since its inception.
Judge Carl Nichols of the US District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed one lawsuit brought by the American Federation of Government Employees, American Foreign Service Association, Personal Services Contractor Association, and Oxfam America.
Those organizations all represented workers affected by the layoffs resulting from USAID's destruction. They argued that the move by the Trump administration was unconstitutional, but this argument was quickly shot down.
USAID has been a source of corruption for decades, wasting American taxpayer dollars on leftist pet projects and funneling money to organizations that are closely connected to powerful politicians.
The organization that is supposed to provide humanitarian aid and help develop third-world countries has likely served as a vehicle to funnel taxpayer dollars to the rich and powerful, which explains the outrage from many rich and powerful Democrats when Trump decided to kill USAID.
However, the fight is far from over, as Judge Nichols's decision doesn't necessarily rule on the merits of the lawsuit but rather invalidates the filing status of the organizations that brought the lawsuit.
Judge Nichols found that three organizations lacked standing to challenge the many discrete actions involved in dismantling USAID.
The Trump administration's actions are complex, and this operation isn't as simple as simply declaring that USAID is no longer, especially considering the State Department is working to absorb parts of USAID.
While another organization could bring a lawsuit on the same merits, this dismissal will likely kill any chance of further litigation stopping USAID's dismantling.
Tearing down USAID is a massive win for the Trump administration, as it destroys a key piece of Washington, D.C.'s corruption as well as a vehicle for the export of the leftist agenda.
USAID has spent billions on insane and corrupt ideas. In one instance, USAID under the Biden administration spent $15 million providing condoms for the Taliban. They also provided $14 million in cash vouchers for migrants at the southern border.
There are countless examples of USAID spending taxpayer dollars promoting LGBTQ initiatives in foreign countries to the tune of millions.
It was long past time for this corrupt organization to be shut down and investigated ,as there is a strong chance that significant sums of cash were distributed to NGO's which then directed funds to the politicians who allowed all of this to happen in the first place.
The death of Food Network chef Anne Burrell on June 17 was ruled a suicide by the City of New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner on Thursday at the conclusion of its investigation; the report found that she died of "acute intoxication due to the combined effects of diphenhydramine, ethanol, cetirizine, and amphetamine."
Burrell apparently mixed two antihistamines with alcohol and amphetamine; the combination can be deadly in the right amounts.
While the combination of medications she had in her system could have been taken mistakenly and caused an accidental death, the fact that she was found unresponsive in the shower with a large quantity of pills near her body led investigators to rule it a suicide.
In the weeks since Burrell died, many of her colleagues and others in the food industry have given heartfelt tributes to her impact on their careers.
Burrell started on Food Network as a sous chef on "Iron Chef America."
She also appeared on "Chopped," "Chef Wanted," "Food Network Star," and "House of Knives," and hosted "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef and "Worst Cooks in America."
The final season of "Worst Cooks" featuring Burrell is still set to air beginning July 28, which will be surreal for her many fans.
She specialized in Italian cooking and trained in Italy for several years before working several stints at prominent Italian eateries in the U.S.
Burrell married Stuart Claxton in 2021; she had previously identified as lesbian and been engaged to a woman.
She was said to be worth $5 million before her death due to her Food Network shows and two bestselling books.
She lived with Claxton and two cats in a 2-bedroom, $1.5 million loft apartment in Brooklyn.
It was not clear what led the 55-year-old to take her own life.
Friends and others who knew her said that while she had struggled in the past, she seemed to have found joy and happiness in recent times.
Burrell's death is a reminder that so often, we don't know what someone is really going through on the inside, even when they look happy on the outside.
President Donald Trump celebrated a legal victory on Wednesday after it was announced that Columbia University took a loss.
The university announced that it would pay $221 million in order to settle several civil rights investigations from the Trump administration, as Breitbart News reported.
Trump went so far as to call the win “historic” and the “right” thing for the iconic university to do.
Columbia’s Office of the President issued a statement, saying that they reached an agreement to resolve the “alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination laws.”
“As part of the resolution, Columbia will pay a $200 million settlement over three years to the federal government. In addition, the University has agreed to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $21 million,” the university president’s office said.
The school, however, was quick to point out what the agreement does NOT do:
“Importantly, the agreement preserves Columbia’s autonomy and authority over faculty hiring, admissions, and academic decision-making.”
The announcement also states that the agreement reinstates a number of federal grants that were terminated in March of this year.
That change alone allows Columbia access to “billions of dollars in current and future grants.”
The agreement said that, “This includes the reinstatement of the majority of grants previously terminated by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services, renewal of non-competitive grants, the release of overdue payments on active, non-terminated grants, and Columbia’s restored eligibility to apply for new federal research funding in the ordinary course.”
Linda McMahon, the Trump administration’s Secretary of Education, called the deal “a seismic shift in our nation’s fight to hold institutions that accept American taxpayer dollars accountable for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.
“Columbia’s reforms are a roadmap for elite universities that wish to regain the confidence of the American public by renewing their commitment to truth-seeking, merit, and civil debate.”
Columbia Board of Trustees Co-Chairs David Greenwald and Jeh Johnson offered up a statement, saying that “Today’s agreement with the federal government affirms Columbia’s unyielding commitment to academic freedom, freedom of expression, and open inquiry.
There also appeared to be a spin reminiscent of the idea that it was part of the university’s plan to make change, saying that the deal, “confirms the changes already underway at Columbia to meaningfully address antisemitism on our campus and allows the University to continue to undertake its transformative research and scholarship.”
A federal court has foiled state plans to circumvent national immigration enforcement, following a push to end the use of detention centers with a July 22 decision.
News broke this week that a federal appeals court ruled that New Jersey’s ban on the use of private immigration detention contracts is unconstitutional, as Fox News reported.
This is a big blow to advocates for illegal immigration who have been trying to diminish the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Garden State.
The court’s decision pertained to a 2021 law signed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, which barred the company CoreCivic from engaging in a contract with ICE.
The contract would have allowed for ICE, which is a subsidiary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to operate its Elizabeth Detention Center.
U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, an appointee of President Donald Trump, weighed in, saying, ”Just as states cannot regulate the federal government itself, they cannot regulate private parties in a way that severely undercuts a federal function.
The judge added that the law "interferes with the federal government’s core power to enforce immigration laws."
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin was not pleased with the circuit court decision and expressed his frustration on X, formerly Twitter.
“We are disappointed in the Third Circuit’s ruling this morning invalidating our law prohibiting private immigration detention.
Near the end of his comments, he promised that the state wasn’t done with the issue, saying, “We will continue to do all we can to defend these important goals and are evaluating our next steps in this case.”
Statement from Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin on the Third Circuit’s Decision in CoreCivic. pic.twitter.com/d0zh3Tru9l
— Attorney General Matt Platkin (@NewJerseyOAG) July 22, 2025
The decision from the 3rd Circuit was a split 2-1 decision, and the attorney general cited one concern from the dissenting judge in his comments:
“As recent events at Delaney Hall underscore, entrusting detention to for-profit companies poses a grave risk to health and safety, and as the dissenting judge noted, states retain broad latitude to protect the health and safety of people within their borders, particularly where, as here, there is no conflict with federal legislation,” Platkin said.
This is at sharp odds with the assertion by DHS and the Trump administration that the removal of illegal immigrants, who entered the nation in violation of current laws or overstayed without proper documentation, is part of their duty and required by federal legislation.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) should go to jail because he falsified loan documents, which is a crime.
Trump is understandably angry at Schiff for leading impeachment proceedings against him and for saying that his son would go to jail for defying a supboena in the Russia collusion investigation, which turned out to be a hoax.
“Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff is in BIG TROUBLE! He falsified Loan Documents. He once said my son would go to prison on a SCAM that Schiff, along with other Crooked Dems, illegally ‘manufactured’ in order to stage an actual coup,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“My son did nothing wrong, knew nothing about the fictional story. It was an American Tragedy! Now Shifty should pay the price of prison for a real crime, not one made up by the corrupt accusers!” Trump added.
Trump first brought the DOJ investigation into Schiff's mortgage up on July 15 in another post on Truth Social.
"I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist," he wrote. "And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud. Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA. I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook. The FRAUD began with the refinance of his Maryland property on February 6, 2009, and continued through multiple transactions until the Maryland property was correctly designated as a second home on October 13, 2020. Mortgage Fraud is very serious, and CROOKED Adam Schiff (now a Senator) needs to be brought to justice."
Schiff responded to the initial post by defending himself and saying that the accusations weren't true.
He said they were a "baseless attempt at political retribution."
He also accused Trump of trying to use the accusations against him to avoid the pushback over not releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Schiff hasn't commented on Trump's latest post.
Schiff's offense seems like a relatively minor one and not worthy of sending anyone to jail, let alone a Senator.
If anything ever comes of the investigation, he will probably just have to pay a fine.
Can't really blame Trump for harping on it, though, because the charges he faced were just as specious.
He probably figures what's good for the goose should be good for the gander, and he's right--but does he really want to stoop to Schiff's level? That's the question.
Two bills regulating cryptocurrency passed the House on Thursday, gaining bipartisan support after a GOP revolt over aspects of the bill earlier in the week.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act passed with a 294-134 vote when 78 House Democrats joined all Republicans to support it.
The more conservative Republicans, including many in the Freedom Caucus, wanted to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
President Donald Trump met with the dissenters on Tuesday and struck a deal that added this provision, but it turned so many others against the bill that it led to an extended debate on the House floor.
Ultimately, the provision was adopted after the longest House vote on record.
The main issue the bill wanted to deal with was when cryptocurrency assets would be considered securities and when they would be considered commodities.
Once these lines are drawn, cryptocurrency can be overseen by either the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
This isn't even the first cryptocurrency bill passed by the House. The earlier Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act was passed last May with similar bipartisan support, but was never taken up by the Senate.
With Trump pushing for the Clarity Act, as it has been nicknamed, there is probably a higher probability of it being taken up by the Senate this time around.
The other bill passed by the House was the GENIUS Act, which stands for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins.
This bill would regulate payment stablecoins as part of the U.S. economy, and is intended to prevent Big Tech from dominating the stablecoin market.
It has already passed the Senate and was signed into law by Trump on Friday.
Part of the attraction of cryptocurrency was the lack of regulation around it, because it was such a brand new concept at the time.
But that lack of regulation is coming to an end, which may have an impact on the popularity of crypto and its attraction for businesses and investors in the future. Republicans and Trump want to see the regulation unfold in the right way, rather than overregulation by the government the way the left would do.
President Donald Trump has directed the DOJ to unseal the grand jury testimonies against late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein concerning allegations of sex trafficking.
At Trump's direction, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch filed a motion in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, “to release grand jury transcripts associated with” the indictment referring to Epstein.
Blanch also filed a separate motion to unseal grand jury transcripts relating to an indictment regarding Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving time in prison for her role as Epstein's right-hand woman.
This decision from Trump is an attempt to clear the air after Attorney General Pam Bondi shocked Americans by announcing that there was no evidence Epstein had a client list and that there was “no credible evidence” that Epstein had blackmailed prominent people.
These claims shocked Americans, as it had been suspected that Epstein had an extensive client list used to blackmail the rich and powerful individuals that he served.
While Trump has stood behind Bondi despite the intense criticism, often from his own supporters, Trump is still committed to transparency and is working to publicize as much information about Epstein as possible.
The pressure has been on Trump since Bondi's announcement, as not only are his supporters angry, but members of the Trump administration are also angry.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was reportedly furious with Bondi and threatening to resign over her handling of the Epstein case. FBI Director Kash Patel was also reportedly considering resigning in protest over Bondi's announcement.
However, it appears that internal talks have soothed over tensions as neither Bongino or Patel are walking, and Bondi has also survived pressure for her resignation from Trump supporters.
But Trump is determined to placate his supporters, and that is why we are seeing a push from the Justice Department to unseal every scrap of information possible related to Epstein and Maxwell.
Whether that will be enough after years of hope that Epstein's powerful clients would be outed remains to be seen. At this point, there seems to be no hope that the powerful people whom Epstein trafficked children to will ever face justice.
While Trump works to unseal the Epstein court files, he is also preparing a massive defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for a hit piece falsely suggesting that Trump was close friends with Epstein after revelations of him being a trafficker surfaced.
The Wall Street Journal's article essentially used Trump's prior relationship with Epstein, before the pair had a falling out, to imply that Trump was buddies with a sex trafficker at the height of the frustration with Bondi's Epstein client list announcement.
Trump has already scored major legal wins since beginning his 2nd term in the White House, and it is likely that the Wall Street Journal will end up settling to avoid a brutal and costly legal battle for their foolish decision to post a defamatory article.
Attorney Alan Dershowitz confirmed that there is no incriminating information against President Donald Trump in the case files related to the late billionaire child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Dershowitz, a onetime attorney of the late sex trafficker, told Friday's "Newsline" that the Epstein case files are very light on bombshell information and will be a massive disappointment for Americans who have waited years to get information on Epstein's sex trafficking operation.
Dershowitz stated, "There's nothing incriminating about Donald Trump, nothing incriminating about Bill Clinton, nothing incriminating about me, nothing incriminating about other people. But there are accusations, and there are some women who collected a lot of money based on these accusations, but a lot of the money was collected even after Epstein died."
This interview from Dershowitz came after the Wall Street Journal's story claiming that Trump and Dershowitz sent Epstein 50th birthday letters years before he was exposed as a sex trafficker.
Trump has already filed a lawsuit for defamation, as the story appears to be completely fabricated or at least based entirely on speculation instead of any real evidence. The WSJ has reportedly refused to release the alleged letters to either Dershowitz or Trump.
Ever since Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the infamous Epstein 'client list' didn't exist, despite claiming she had it on her desk previously, the nation has been in an uproar and Americans want full transparency.
When Epstein died in prison in 2019 under suspicious circumstances, Americans quickly seized on the situation, with it becoming commonly accepted that Epstein had been murdered and did not commit suicide as the official narrative claimed.
Presumably, Epstein was killed to protect the rich and powerful people that he had compromising evidence on that he could have presented had he gone to trial for his sex trafficking charges.
Trump promised during his campaign to release all the information on Epstein and his criminal enterprises, and yet, Bondi's announcement came as a shock to Trump supporters. Now, the drama with Epstein refuses to die down, and it's a nightmare for the Trump administration.
However, claims that Trump is covering up the Epstein files because of his own involvement have quickly collapsed. Dershowitz's claims that Trump is not criminally involved are backed up by Trump's falling out with Epstein over twenty years ago.
It's becoming increasingly likely that the supposed client list didn't exist, at least in the form that many wanted, or that information on Epstein has been destroyed since his death over six years ago.
Trump himself has ordered the release of information on the Epstein files after uproar over Bondi's announcement. Alongside that, Trump is bringing hell down on the Wall Street Journal for their sensational story that sought to defame Trump using the uproar and attention on the Epstein story.
Dershowitz will likely be heavily involved with Trump's lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, as he is experienced in winning defamation cases.
Both Dershowitz and Trump had relationships with Epstein prior to his being outed as a child trafficker, but that won't be enough to save the Wall Street Journal from justice, seeing as they clearly didn't learn from Paramount.