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Judge denies lawmaker request for ‘independent monitor’ to oversee Epstein files release

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A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the Justice Department’s disclosure of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, while conceding the lawmakers have raised “legitimate concerns” about the department’s compliance with the law.

In a 7-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote that his supervision of the criminal case against Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell doesn’t grant him “any charter to supervise” whether the Justice Department meets its legal obligation to disclose the files.

But he noted that his order didn’t foreclose the lawmakers’ right to sue over the matter. And Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, added that both the lawmakers and victims “raise legitimate concerns about whether DOJ is faithfully complying with federal law.”

Massie and Khanna authored the law Congress passed late last year mandating the department to make millions of pages of materials related to the late convicted sex offender public by Dec. 19. Instead, the department released a few tranches of material in late December but has disclosed in court filings that millions of additional pages remain unreleased.

In addition to the disclosure delays, the lawmakers have complained that the Justice Department has improperly redacted certain information from the files.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post misspelled Paul Engelmayer’s name.

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Congress

Suozzi: ‘I failed’ when voting to pass DHS funding bill

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Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) on Monday said he regretted his vote last week for a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, amid intense backlash surrounding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

“I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis,” he said in a statement. “I hear the anger from my constituents, and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE’s unlawful behavior and I must do a better job demonstrating that.”

Suozzi was one of seven Democrats who crossed party lines to join Republicans in narrowly passing the DHS funding bill in a 220-207 vote. The bill funded agencies including FEMA and the Coast Guard — and ICE, keeping it funded at $10 billion for the fiscal year.

Suozzi expressed his regret amid mounting tensions following federal immigration operations in Minnesota and the killing of a second U.S. citizen protester, 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, on Saturday.

“The senseless and tragic murder of Alex Pretti underscores what happens when untrained federal agents operate without accountability,” Suozzi said. “President Trump must immediately end ‘Operation Metro Surge’ and ICE’s occupation of Minneapolis that has sown chaos, led to tragedy, and undermined experienced local law enforcement.”

Before the weekend killing, the DHS funding was slated to be part of a six-bill package that seemed likely to pass in the Senate. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said over the weekend that Democrats would not help advance the current package if it included the DHS funding — significantly raising the risk of a partial government shutdown at the end of the week.

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.), another one of the seven House Democrats who voted for the DHS package, called for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s impeachment following Pretti’s killing.

“Another U.S. citizen has been killed at the hands of ICE and there must be accountability, which is why Secretary Noem must be impeached immediately,” Gillen said in a statement Sunday. “Under her leadership, ICE has targeted U.S. citizens and children and killed Americans.”

But Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), another member of the group of breakaway House Democrats, defended his vote in a video message Monday, calling the footage out of Minnesota “appalling” but defending voting for the DHS funding.

“ICE has all the resources they need that they got from that big ugly bill Republicans passed last year, that I voted against,” he said, adding he voted for funding for agencies like FEMA and the TSA.

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Republicans offer early support for Trump’s Minnesota pivot

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Some Republicans on Capitol Hill expressed relief after President Donald Trump announced Monday he would send border czar Tom Homan to handle immigration enforcement in Minnesota after Department of Homeland Security agents shot and killed a second U.S. citizen there.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) praised the move Monday, saying “we need a new set of eyes and someone with his experience to help turn around the problems of the moment and the future.”

“Tom is the right man to find a way to de-escalate the situation,” he added.

A growing number of Hill Republicans have been pushing publicly and privately for a lowering of the temperature, including from the federal government, after DHS agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.

GOP lawmakers largely view Homan as a more practical enforcer of Trump’s mass deportation plans as some grow increasingly wary of how Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino are handling the campaign, according to six GOP lawmakers granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.

“There needed to be a change,” said one of the GOP lawmakers. But other at-risk Republicans have been wary to publicly embrace Homan, who has denied reports that he took a $50,000 bribe from federal agents.

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Trump says Justice Department is investigating Ilhan Omar

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President Donald Trump on Monday said the Justice Department is investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, writing: “the DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all.”

It is the latest attack the president has levied at Omar, and the most recent instance of the president directing an investigation into his political rivals.

Trump has previously said Omar should be jailed or deported to Somalia, where she was born, though Omar has been a U.S. citizen since 2000. He has also linked Omar to government services fraud investigations in Minnesota, accusing her of being “one of many scammers,” despite no clear evidence linking her to the cases.

Tensions have only grown between the two as immigration officials continue to patrol the city of Minneapolis, which Omar represents.

Omar’s net worth skyrocketed in the last year, and House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) recently told the New York Post that he plans to launch an investigation into what caused the dramatic spike.

According to financial disclosures filed last year, Omar’s net worth principally increased due to her spouse — and not her work with the government. She disclosed her spouse taking in anywhere between $6 million and $30 million in partnership income from a venture capital firm and a winery.

Members of Congress’ and their spouses’ sources of income and assets are traditionally disclosed in broad ranges, not as a specific dollar amount.

Omar has previously denied the allegations of anything untoward and has said Trump has a “creepy” obsession with her.

Trump also announced Monday that he is sending border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis. Residents have flooded the streets of the city this month, protesting the shootings of Renee Good, who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jan. 7, and Alex Pretti, who was killed by a Border Patrol agent Saturday.

Neither the DOJ nor Omar’s office immediately responded to requests for comment.

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