Good Wednesday evening. In this edition: Johnson says nobody is trying to block Epstein files; and Gabbard accuses Obama of manipulating Russian interference evidence.
Plus, Japan, SCOTUS and midterms.
Epstein Files
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) defended his decision to scrap his legislative agenda for the week to avoid having to hold votes over the release of documents related to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"No one in Congress is blocking Epstein documents," he told reporters.
"Republicans are preventing Democrats from making a mockery of the Rules Committee process because we refuse to engage in their political charade. That is what is happening, and nothing more."
On Tuesday, the speaker announced he would send lawmakers home one day early for the August recess and forgo plans to vote on several Republican bills in order to prevent Democrats from forcing Epstein-related votes in the Rules Committee.
By shutting down the Rules Committee, which prepares bills for floor consideration, he effectively froze his own legislative agenda.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) ripped the speaker's decision in a floor speech this morning.
"Speaker Johnson has assured that August has become the 'Epstein recess,' because this issue is going to grow and grow and grow the longer House Republicans dodge this issue," he said.
Speaker Johnson said he wants "all credible information" about the Epstein case to be released but cautioned that innocent people must be protected.
He said the legislative efforts by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) to unseal the files would fail to protect such people.
He also dismissed the need for Congress to take any action at all, saying the Trump administration was already working to make more information public.
"There's no point in having a vote today because the administration is already doing everything within their power to release them," he said.
Nevertheless, lawmakers took two major steps this afternoon with respect to the Epstein case:
A House Oversight panelvoted8–2 to subpoena the Justice Department to release files related to Mr. Epstein, with three Republicans joining all Democrats: Reps. Nancy Mace (SC), Scott Perry (PA) and Brian Jack (GA).
Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the chair of the Oversight Committee, also formally issued a subpoena for Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime Epstein associate and convicted child sex trafficker, to be deposed by Congress on Aug. 11.
The Trump administration has been trying to tamp down anger about its handling of the Epstein matter and the Justice Department recently filed motions to unseal grand jury documents related to the case.
This afternoon, a federal judge in Florida denied that request, which was a likely outcome given the high burden to release such files.
The Wall Street Journal also reported this afternoon that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed President Trump in May that his name appears multiple times in the Epstein documents, though that is not necessarily an indication of any wrongdoing.
The story, which has since been confirmed by multipleoutlets, said the president's name was one of many high-profile figures who had socialized with Mr. Epstein in the past.
The presidentdenied to reporters last week that his attorney general had informed him that his name was in the files.
President Trump has repeatedly tried to move on from the Epstein saga, but its intensity has only picked up since the Justice Department release a memo earlier this month saying there was no "client list" nor evidence to contradict that Mr. Epstein died by suicide.
In recent days, he's told reporters to instead focus on what he claims is evidence of "treason" committed by President Obama for his administration's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
To that end, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbardreleased a report she claims undercuts the conclusion of the Obama administration's intelligence community that Russia favored the election of Donald Trump in 2016.
Ms. Gabbard claimed the document, which was originally drafted by the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee in 2017, showed "irrefutable evidence" that President Obama and his national security team "directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false."
"There was a gross politicization, manipulation of intelligence by the Obama administration intended to delegitimize President Trump even before he was inaugurated, ultimately usurping the will of the American people," she said.
The newly released House report does not dispute the intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the election but alleges tradecraft failings in how the conclusion was reached that Moscow favored President Trump.
It determined the CIA "did not adhere to the tenets" of analytic standards and said the conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin took actions to boost President Trump was based on "one scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from one of the substandard reports."
President Obama's office issued a rare statement on Tuesday, condemning the allegations as "ridiculous" and "a weak attempt at distraction."
"Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes," his spokesman said.
The report is also at odds with a bipartisan investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee that concluded Russia aggressively sought to interfere in the 2016 election on President Trump's behalf.
The committee was chaired by then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who is currently serving as President Trump's secretary of State.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, slammed Ms. Gabbard for releasing the "partisan" House report.
"It seems as though the Trump administration is willing to declassify anything and everything except the Epstein files," he said in a statement.
"Releasing this so-called report is just another reckless act by a Director of National Intelligence so desperate to please Donald Trump that she is willing to risk classified sources, betray our allies, and politicize the very intelligence she has been entrusted to protect."
President Trumpannounced Tuesday night the U.S. and Japan had finalized a "massive" trade deal that includes a 15% tariff on imports from Japan. The president said on social media that Japan — America's fifth largest trading partner — will invest $550 billion in the U.S., which "will receive 90% of the Profits." Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that the deal includes the U.S. lowering tariffs on auto shipments, one of Japan's largest exports to the U.S., to 15% from the 25% rate the administration has imposed on all auto shipments.
The Supreme Courtallowed the Trump administration to fire three Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a five-member group that aims to keep people from being harmed by products. The members were fired earlier in the year but were later reinstated by a federal judge, who ruled the president lacked the authority to dismiss them without cause. The three liberal justices dissented from the brief, unsigned opinion.
Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Bill Huizenga (R-MI) announced they will both seek reelection to the House in 2026 after flirting with higher offices. Rep. Lawler, who had been exploring a gubernatorial campaign against incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), will try to hold onto his swing seat in New York's 17th District. Rep. Huizenga's decision to forgo a U.S. Senate bid paves the way for former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) to once against secure the Republican nomination.
Roy Cooper, the former Democratic governor of North Carolina, is planning to run for the U.S. Senate in 2026 to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R), according to Axios. Democrats believe the popular two-term governor's entry into the race could give them a strong opportunity to flip the seat.
For your radar...
The Texas House of Representatives holds a hearing Thursday to get public input on the legislature's attempt to redraw its federal congressional map. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 3pm ET.
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