Congress
Democrats release more photos from Epstein estate
Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released 70 additional photos Thursday obtained from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, part of their last-ditch pressure campaign to force the Justice Department to comply with a Friday deadline to release a massive trove of files related to the late convicted sex offender.
The photos are among the 95,000 images that have been selectively released by Democrats so far from materials obtained from the Epstein estate through a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee over the summer.
They also follow last week’s release of photos highlighting Epstein’s relationship with powerful men, including President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, tech giant Bill Gates and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
“Oversight Democrats will continue to release photographs and documents from the Epstein estate to provide transparency for the American people,” said the Oversight panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, in a statement. “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.”
A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two of the new photographs made public by Democrats Thursday depict Gates beside a woman whose face has been obscured to protect her identity. A spokesperson for Gates, whose relationship with Epstein has been previously documented, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
One photo shows a page of a woman’s passport and another is a screenshot of a series of text messages where an unknown sender says they have found “some girls” for “1000$ per girl … Maybe someone will be good for J?”
Trump has maintained he had a falling out with Epstein years ago. A spokesperson for Clinton has said the former president disassociated himself with Epstein before his 2019 arrest and had no knowledge of his crimes. Bannon has not publicly commented on the photos or his relationship with Epstein.
The GOP-led panel launched its own probe into Epstein over the summer as Republican leaders sought to thwart a vote on legislation compelling the Justice Department to release all the Epstein-related materials it can produce while also protecting victims and not running afoul of ongoing criminal investigations.
Republicans, with Trump’s blessing, eventually let this vote go through, starting the 30-day countdown clock for the DOJ to comply. But information requested by the Oversight panel is continuing to be delivered to Capitol Hill.
It remains to be seen, however, whether the DOJ release will quell calls for transparency and complaints about obfuscation. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) — who co-led the insurgent, bipartisan effort to force a floor vote on the bill requiring the release of the Epstein case materials — is already questioning whether House Republicans had cancelled votes on Friday because of the expected files’ publication.
House Oversight Democrats also noted that the estate did not provide context for the images and that the young women’s faces were redacted given a lack of certainty around whether they could be identified as victims of Epstein.
A spokesperson for Republicans on the House Oversight committee did not immediately return a request for comment.
Rep. Max Miller issued a subpoena to his former father-in-law and fellow Ohio Republican, Sen. Bernie Moreno, in the latest escalation of a long-running family legal drama.
Pamela MacAdams, an attorney for Miller, reported to the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Monday that three subpoenas were served in Miller’s divorce case, according to court records. A person with knowledge of the subpoenas granted anonymity to comment on them said that two were sent to Moreno and his wife, Bridget.
Their daughter, Emily Moreno, was married to Miller, and the two remain embroiled in a nasty legal battle.
Spokespeople for Miller, Emily Moreno and Bernie Moreno did not immediately return requests for comment. TMZ first reported on the subpoenas.
Miller is seeking reelection in a competitive district, and his campaign has been marred by accusations of domestic abuse against Emily Moreno and their daughter. Miller has repeatedly denied the allegations and chose to remain in the race despite other Republican lawmakers pressuring him to withdraw his campaign.
The House Ethics Committee, which began an inquiry into Miller after Miller asked to be investigated, is currently in a preelection blackout period. During that period, which will continue through the midterms, the Ethics Committee doesn’t take any action against sitting members who could return next Congress.
Congress
Trump declares $1B canceled in ‘pocket rescission’ in another affront to Congress’ funding power
President Donald Trump informed congressional leaders Friday that he has unilaterally canceled almost $1 billion without Congress’ consent — employing a budget maneuver many lawmakers consider illegal.
In a move that will almost certainly set up an ugly government funding battle after the midterms, Trump has again claimed the power to execute a so-called “pocket rescission” to nix money Congress has already enacted. The money his administration will claw back is for for immigration services, support to foreign countries, education programs, health research efforts and assistance for businesses owned by minorities.
By law, the president is allowed to send Congress a request to rescind federal funding, then withhold that money for 45 days while lawmakers consider whether to approve, reject or ignore it. Trump administration officials also argue they have the power to cancel funding without any congressional action by sending Congress a rescission request with less than 45 days left in the fiscal year. The argument is that the money automatically gets canceled on Sept. 30, when funding lapses at the end of the fiscal year.
Last year, Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid.
The Senate’s top Republican appropriator, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, immediately blasted the move as illegal, saying in a statement Friday night that “any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.”
“This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law,” Collins added, pledging to work with other lawmakers “to address these illegal actions.”
Collins and other appropriators have already been on high alert in recent days, pressing multiple agencies about funding officials have yet to spend ahead of the expiration date.
Democrats are finally catching on to how to talk to young male voters in the lead-up to the midterms, but the party can still up its game, one battleground senator and potential 2028er said Friday.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has been one of his party’s most outspoken critics on its handling of outreach to young men, who swung right and helped deliver the White House and both chambers of Congress to Republicans in 2024.
The party is now “definitely moving in the right direction,” Gallego said Friday.
“Like back in the day, I was like the only one,” putting out positions on men, Gallego said at a Washington event on young American men. “Now, like, it seems like everyone every week is coming out with a new position, new idea, which is great.”
Gallego has criticized Democrat’s failure to highlight mens’ struggles and their tendency to over-police mens’ ideas. But there are signs the political winds have shifted in his party’s favor.
A new Cygnal poll released with the event of men ages 18-30 who say they’re the most determined to vote revealed Democrats’ generic ballot lead over Republicans at 57%-40%, Blue Light News reported. The poll also said nearly 40 percent of respondents said they feel their lives are off track.
“We need to take the opportunity to invest in that portion of this country, to say that we care about them and actually try to change the trajectory of what’s happening with men in this country,” Gallego said at the symposium.
Still, the path for specific legislation targeting the needs of this demographic faces an incredibly tight calendar this Congress and is uncertain in the political landscape of next year.
A proposal from Gallego and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to establish a men’s health office within the Department of Health and Human Services, for example, has not advanced. Nor has bipartisan legislation from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who also spoke at the event, targeting education outcomes, college investment transparency and dyslexic student support.
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