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Epstein Alleged in Emails That Trump Knew of His Conduct

(NY Times) House Democrats on Wednesday released emails in which Jeffrey Epstein wrote that President Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of Mr. Epstein’s victims, among other messages that suggested that the convicted sex offender believed Mr. Trump knew more about his abuse than he has acknowledged. In one of the messages, Mr. Epstein flatly asserted that Mr. Trump "knew about the girls," many of whom were later found by investigators to have been underage. In another, Mr. Epstein pondered how to address questions from the news media about their relationship as Mr. Trump was becoming a national political figure.

'Absolutely unreal': Conservatives rebel against Trump over smear on American workers'

(Raw Story) A comment made by Donald Trump about American workers during an interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News has set off a rebellion among conservatives who worry he may have crippled their hopes for the 2026 midterm election while questioning what the president could have been thinking. When asked about H-1B visas that allow foreigners to work in the U.S. in high-demand jobs, the president trashed American workers, telling the Fox personality they are needed because, “Well, I agree, but you also do have to bring in talent.” Pressed about his answer with, “We don’t have talented people here?” Trump bluntly stated, “No.”

Americans Are Anxious Over Jobs Too

(Political Wire) “Voter frustration over affordability fueled Democratic wins in last week’s state and local elections, and on top of that, Americans are becoming uneasy about the job market too,” Bloomberg reports. “Some 55% of employed Americans say they’re concerned about losing their jobs, according to a recent Harris Poll conducted for Bloomberg News.”

Raskin blasts 'blatantly corrupt' Senate deal allowing suits over secret phone record subpoenas

(The Hill) The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee slammed a Senate-approved plan to reopen the government that would also pave the way for eight GOP senators to earn significant sums from litigation challenging the search of their phone records related to Jan. 6. Tucked into the GOP proposal, which eight Democratic senators also approved, the bill requires telecommunications companies to alert senators if their data has been obtained. But it also allows those whose phone records were seized as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation to earn substantial sums from legal challenges stemming from the matter.

US ethics officials removed for inquiring into improper access of mortgage files

(The Guardian) Ethics officials at Fannie Mae were removed from their jobs as they investigated whether a top Trump ally improperly accessed mortgage documents of Letitia James, the New York attorney general, and other Democratic officials, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. William Pulte, a staunch Trump defender and the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), has accused James, Adam Schiff, a California senator, and Lisa Cook, a federal reserve governor, of mortgage fraud. All three have denied the accusations and James was indicted on specious federal charges last month.

Rep.-elect Grijalva says she plans to confront Johnson at long-delayed swearing-in ceremony

(CNN) Arizona Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who is set to be sworn in on Wednesday, said she will confront House Speaker Mike Johnson after waiting nearly 50 days to be seated as a member of Congress. “I won’t be able to like sort of move on if I don’t address it personally and we’ll see what kind of reaction he has,” Grijalva, a Democrat, told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” Tuesday. “I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to say,” Grijalva added but said she will stress that Johnson refusing to swear her in for over a month is “undemocratic.”

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Democratic wins in redistricting war offset GOP gains

(The Hill) Democrats have racked up a number of key victories in the redistricting battle in recent days, giving the party hope it can cancel out GOP gains in next year’s midterms. The party’s latest win came late Monday, when a judge rejected a Republican-drawn congressional map in Utah, giving Democrats a clear pickup opportunity in a reliably red state. That followed the passage of Proposition 50 in California, where voters overwhelmingly approved a new map designed to net the party additional seats. The Democrats’ latest victories have scrambled the redistricting fight and fueled optimism within their ranks that it won’t be the bloodbath some of them feared.

Migrants at largest US detention camp face foul water, rotten food, congresswoman says

(US News & World Report) Detainees at the largest U.S. migrant detention camp endure foul-tasting drinking water, rotten food and inadequate healthcare, according to a U.S. congresswoman who called the tent facility in El Paso, Texas, "inhumane." U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat, made the allegations in a letter last week to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem based on complaints from migrants at the new $1.2 billion facility, called Camp East Montana. “Conditions at Camp East Montana are dangerous and inhumane,” Escobar wrote. “It is increasingly clear that it is not a safe nor professionally managed facility.”

Kash Patel's high-flying habits roil Trump's circle as new posh hunting trip revealed

(Raw Story) The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday night on Patel's trips using the FBI's jet, noting the plane itself has made dozens of trips since Patel became director. In that time, Patel has "drawn flak from his bosses" in the DOJ and from his "underlings" at the FBI, according to the report. Patel hit the news for taking an FBI plane to attend a wrestling event where his girlfriend, a country western singer, performed, and then to her home in Nashville. A former FBI agent, Kyle Seraphin, publicized the trip and called the taxpayer funded travel in the middle of a shutdown 'pathetic," the Journal noted.