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Trump administration latest: House vote on Epstein files looms as shutdown impacts linger
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Congressman Dan Goldman on the Epstein files: The White House is engaged in ‘a massive cover up’
03:35 • Source: CNN
Congressman Dan Goldman on the Epstein files: The White House is engaged in ‘a massive cover up’
03:35
• Epstein files latest: President Donald Trump is asking the Justice Department to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to high-profile figures, including perceived political opponents, after his own name surfaced in emails from the late financier.
• Bad advice: In recent days, the president was told by at least one of his allies that he was getting bad advice on his approach to the Epstein situation by continuing to delay and downplay it, a source told CNN. The House is expected to vote on a bill compelling the release of all of the Justice Department’s Epstein case files next week.
• Ripple effects: Meanwhile, as the federal government reopens after a record-long shutdown, Trump’s top economic adviser said the impasse likely led to a loss of 60,000 private-sector jobs. Altering your Thanksgiving travel plans? Tell us about it.
Survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes are lobbying House Republicans to vote “yes” on releasing the Epstein files next week, writing a new letter today aimed at applying pressure on GOP lawmakers.
The letter was addressed to lawmakers in both the House and the Senate, and stressed that in the survivors’ view, “there is no middle ground” when it comes to the need for full transparency on the Epstein files.
“There is no hiding behind party affiliation. The testimonies you heard are just a fraction of the unimaginable suffering endured by more than a thousand victims alike,” the signatories wrote.
This week, a discharge petition that would force the House to take a vote on whether to release the Epstein files garnered its last required signature, from newly sworn-in Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva. Only four Republicans signed on to the discharge petition — Reps. Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert — but CNN has reported that the number of House Republicans that break from President Donald Trump and vote for the release of the files could be greater.
Epstein’s survivors are planning to gather in Washington, DC, next week for another news conference, marking the second such public show-of-force this year.
Meanwhile, see below the latest on Trump asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Epstein’s ties to many other high-profile figures:
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Trump orders DOJ to investigate political opponents tied to Epstein
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he will ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to many other high-profile figures, in an extraordinary step that comes just days after Democrats released emails from the late Epstein that mention him. CNN’s Alayna Treene reports.
01:19 • Source: CNN
Trump orders DOJ to investigate political opponents tied to Epstein
01:19
The Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown continues to roil the Chicago area.
A controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the suburb of Broadview, Illinois, has been at the center of weeks of protest. A largely peaceful demonstration outside the building today turned chaotic.
Several people were detained, including at least one clergy member from a group of faith leaders who had joined the protest, according to CNN affiliate WBBM. Four officers were injured while trying to redirect demonstrators who left a designated protest area and entered the street outside the facility, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
Lawsuit against DHS: Meanwhile, a group of journalists and protesters suing the Department of Homeland Security allege the agency violated a federal judge’s injunction during a protest in Cicero, Illinois, last Saturday.
The group is accusing agents of shooting some kind of chemical or pepper spray into a moving car during the protest, hitting a couple and their 1-year-old child.
The incident was raised in a court notice filed yesterday by the group, which noted several “apparent violations” to US District Court Judge Sara Ellis’ order earlier this month restricting the use of physical force by federal agents unless under immediate threat of physical harm.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin denied the claim when reached by CNN, saying “there was no crowd control or pepper spray deployed” in a Sam’s Club parking lot near the protest where the incident allegedly took place.
Rafael Vereza, the father of the 1-year-old, said at a news conference last weekend that he was not a protester and was just trying to leave the grocery store parking lot.
A 10-second video submitted with the notice as evidence shows the moment an orange chemical substance appears to be sprayed on Vereza’s moving car.
The judge overseeing the Georgia 2020 election racketeering criminal case against Donald Trump and his allies has thrown out more of the charges against the president and several of his co-defendants.
Superior Court of Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee dismissed two charges on this afternoon that Trump and his co-defendants face but still left intact most of the sprawling racketeering indictment.
McAfee threw out a count of filing false documents against Trump and others. That count related to untrue statements about supposed voter fraud that were included in one of the president’s lawsuits in December 2020 that attempted to negate the election results.
The judge also threw out one count of filing false documents and one count of conspiring to file false documents, both stemming from the Trump campaign’s efforts to put forward a slate of fake GOP electors in Georgia. Trump was only named in the conspiracy count.
Even though a long-time veteran career prosecutor will now oversee the case, taking over for Fani Willis who was disqualified, it is unclear how it will move forward.
A status/pretrial conference has been scheduled for December 1 in Fulton County with Judge Scott McAfee, but the accused defendants are not required to attend.
Filing:
The Internal Revenue Service informed furloughed employees that they won’t receive back pay from the government shutdown until later than originally planned, according to the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).
It has been a very difficult time for the employees, said Doreen Greenwald, the National President of the NTEU. Some had to take out loans or work other jobs to provide for their families, she said.
The law requires that after a shutdown, federal employees receive their back pay at the earliest date possible.
The Trump administration originally aimed to complete the backlogged payments by November 19. However, the NTEU told reporters today that the IRS informed furloughed employees that they won’t receive partial back pay until November 24, and the rest until as late as December 8.
The IRS furloughed about 34,400 of its 74,300 employees about a week into the shutdown. The remaining staffers were paid with other funds during the impasse.
The Department of Transportation is easing the number of flights airlines are required to cut at 40 major airports as air traffic controllers continue to show up for work after the end of the federal government shutdown.
Starting tomorrow, airlines will be able to operate 97% of their traffic at these major airports. The 3% cut is half of the 6% reduction which FAA had mandated Wednesday night as the shutdown was ending and well below the 10% that was initially set to be imposed today.
The DOT said it would ease mandatory cuts to flights when air traffic controller staffing made it safe to do so.
Today, three air traffic control facilities reported staffing problems, including the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport control tower until 10 p.m. ET. The facility which handles flights approaching or departing Newark Liberty International Airport will be short-staffed for one hour at 8 p.m. ET. The same operation was short-staffed this morning.
The three staffing problems is a fraction of the 32 reported last Friday.
Thousands of flights were canceled during the shutdown as air traffic controllers took unscheduled time off, to manage stress, work other jobs or protest being required to work without pay. The 650 air traffic controller staffing problems triggered action, including delaying flights and rerouting planes, during the 43-day funding lapse.
As a deal was reached in Congress to reopen the government, the staffing problems dropped dramatically.
While much of today’s coverage has focused on the lingering effects of the government shutdown and the political drama surrounding the so-called Epstein files, we’re also keeping an eye on other news from a busy week in the Trump administration.
Here are some of the other storylines we’re tracking:
• Redistricting battles: In the latest sign of resistance to President Donald Trump’s broader push to redraw congressional lines in favor of Republicans, the GOP leader of Indiana’s Senate is putting up a roadblock to the president’s push in the state.
• Immigration crackdown: Charlotte, North Carolina, is next on the administration’s list of cities to target in a sweeping deportation push — something city officials say they were not aware of until receiving calls from CNN.
• Nuclear testing: Top energy and nuclear officials in the Trump administration are planning to meet with the White House and National Security Council to dissuade the president from resuming testing of the nation’s nuclear weapons, sources told CNN.
• Thailand-Cambodia: Trump held calls with officials from each Southeast Asian country today as the peace agreement he presided over in July appears to unravel.
• Analysis: CNN’s Aaron Blake looked at the unpopularity of Trump’s strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. Polls show Americans are uneasy with the dubious legality of the military action.
CNN’s Eric Bradner, Fredreka Schouten, Dianne Gallagher, Priscilla Alvarez, Ella Nilsen, René Marsh, Alayna Treene and Kit Maher contributed to this report.
Air traffic controllers received a payment today for some of the hours worked during the government shutdown.
One controller, who did not want to be named discussing his pay, told CNN he received a direct deposit for his base rate, but it did not include overtime or deductions for taxes.
The Department of Transportation said earlier this week that controllers would get a payment within 48 hours of the shutdown ending, and the rest within about a week.
Remember: Controllers, and other Federal Aviation Administration workers who maintain essential equipment, were required to work without pay during the shutdown.
Some controllers took sick leave during the lapse in funding, resulting in delays and some flight cancellations.
Visitors from as far away as Florida and California lined up at the National Air and Space Museum’s door this morning, eagerly awaiting its reopening.
The Washington, DC, museum greeted more than 1,000 visitors in just 30 minutes after its reopening, said director Christopher Browne. It is one of two Smithsonian museums reopening today. Another five are expected to open tomorrow, with all other museums opening on a rolling basis by Monday.
Kathy and Deneen Smith from California told CNN they planned their trip to the nation’s capital two months in advance, but the shutdown impacted their plans. “We’re very thankful that at least we get one day,” Deneen Smith said. They’ve been in the city for five days and were expecting to see all the museums.
Browne said he found out the museum was reopening “pretty much when the American public found out,” when Congress passed the funding bill. He described the building as being in a state of hibernation during the shutdown and said the facility was able to get back up and running for the public in less than 48 hours.
Janet and Mark Warden from Arizona, who planned their trip more than four months ago, expected their plans to be canceled. However, when they checked the museum’s website yesterday evening, they were able to get tickets for this morning.
“I wanted to see as much as I could here because I’ve never been here before,” Janet Warden said. “We had a Capitol tour on Tuesday, and it got canceled, and we thought, ‘Are all of them going to get canceled on us?’ but it opened, and we’re still here.”
Visitors at the top of the Washington Monument today were able to get a view of the now-demolished East Wing of the White House.
The monument opened at 9 a.m. ET this morning, according to the National Park Service.
The construction on the East Wing began on October 20. It was torn down to make way for President Donald Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
Photos from the top of the monument show dirt and construction equipment in place of where the East Wing once was. The Washington Monument stands in front of the White House on the National Mall.
CNN’s Liz Turrell contributed reporting to this post.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said today that prosecutors in New York will lead a federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to high-profile figures, an announcement made just hours after President Donald Trump publicly instructed her to do so.
Trump directed Bondi on social media to “investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him.”
The attorney general posted a screenshot of his request, and wrote “Thank you, Mr. President.”
Bondi wrote that she had asked Jay Clayton, the top prosecutor in New York’s southern district, to “take the lead” in that investigation, adding that “as with all matters, the Department will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people.”
More context: The extraordinary step comes just days after Democrats released emails from the late Epstein that mention Trump, a move that the president decried as an effort to distract from the government shutdown and “all of their other failures.”
It’s also the second time that the president has personally, and publicly, instructed the attorney general to take a major investigative or prosecutorial act. In September, Trump called on Bondi to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff.
On their first day back to work following the government shutdown, one Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employee said they were greeted by a dusty keyboard and a mountain of urgent emails, some of which contained urgent asks from doctors.
Describing what it’s like to be back to work, the source told CNN: “Thousands of emails from various state and local health departments, academic partners, and clinicians asking for help/expertise on various projects meant to keep Americans healthy, all sitting in our inboxes.”
Those emails — which went unanswered during the longest-ever government shutdown — include ones from a clinician seeking help “understanding how to treat a rare infectious disease” in a patient, the source said, noting that the CDC is “the only place that has expertise in this particular pathogen.”
“This case was about an individual patient. The doctor turned to CDC for how to treat some obscure disease, and the experts weren’t able to answer,” the source said.
The email sat unanswered for a week. “We’d normally answer it the same day, because the patient needs to start treatment right away,” the source said.
In recent days, President Donald Trump was directly told by at least one of his allies on Capitol Hill that he was getting bad advice on his approach to the Jeffrey Epstein situation by continuing to delay and downplay it, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
Trump was told by the ally that his staff was allowing bad press on this issue for six months and it opened him up to totally unnecessary criticism, the source added.
For months, allies have been telling the president and his advisers to change their strategy, often voicing frustration over the way the controversy has been handled.
It’s been a busy Friday at the White House and on Capitol Hill.
We are closely following the latest developments as lawmakers are set to vote on releasing the full Jeffrey Epstein case files next week, and President Donald Trump looks to deflect from the effort.
But here are some other top headlines from around the administration you might have missed. Click the links to read the full reporting.
- Attempts to dissuade nuclear weapons testing: Top energy and nuclear officials in the Trump administration are planning to inform the White House that they do not think blowing up weapons for nuclear warhead testing — as Trump suggested last month — is tenable, two sources familiar with the matter said.
- Appealing an immigration ruling: The Trump administration is appealing a federal judge’s order requiring 615 immigration detainees to be released on bail, with the potential for thousands more releases to come.
- Tariffs on Switzerland: Tariffs on goods from Switzerland will fall to 15% from 39%, the Swiss government announced today following a meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. More details on the agreement are set to be released later today.
- Economic reports after the shutdown: One of the first reports expected to be released could be the September jobs report, which was due October 3. But it remains to be seen when several other major reports will be put out, and if they will be complete.
CNN’s Ella Nilsen, René Marsh, Alayna Treene, Alicia Wallace, Elisabeth Buchwald and Andy Rose contributed reporting to this post.
JPMorgan Chase ended its relationship with Jeffrey Epstein “years before his arrest on sex trafficking charges,” spokesperson Patricia Wexler said in a statement today, after President Donald Trump said he was asking the Justice Department to probe the bank’s ties to the disgraced financier.
JPMorgan paid $290 million in 2023 to settle a class action lawsuit filed by Epstein’s survivors that alleged it turned a blind eye to unusual cash transactions that they claimed enabled Epstein’s sex trafficking. JPMorgan also paid $75 million to settle with the US Virgin Islands. The bank did not admit or deny any wrongdoing in either settlement.
Earlier: Trump named several high-profile figures in his announcement about the DOJ probe today, including Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, “and many other people and institutions.”
The president made this extraordinary move just days after Democrats released emails from the late Epstein that mention him.
CNN’s Adam Cancryn and Donald Judd contributed to this report.
Food stamp recipients in Maryland will receive their full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits beginning on Tuesday, the state Department of Human Services announced today.
Maryland enrollees who were due their SNAP benefits received at least half their allotments this month, while the federal government’s shutdown disrupted the issuance of the assistance. Distribution is normally staggered throughout the month.
After saying it did not have the money to provide November’s food stamp benefits, the US Department of Agriculture last week authorized states to make partial payments after a federal court ordered it to do so. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced that he would direct $62 million in state funds to support SNAP recipients, as well as $10 million in emergency food assistance.
As of November 13, the state issued nearly $47 million in benefits to nearly 218,000 households to ensure they received at least half of their usual allotments.
Residents who regularly receive their SNAP assistance before Tuesday will continue getting at least half their benefits, with all of these enrollees receiving the remainder of their allotments on that day. Those who are scheduled to receive their benefits on or after Tuesday will receive their full benefits.
President Donald Trump said Friday he will ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to many other high-profile figures, including some of his perceived political opponents, again blasting Democrats following the release earlier this week of emails from the late Epstein that mention him.
More context: The president has sought to dismiss questions over Epstein for months, pressuring Republicans to block a discharge petition in the US House forcing a vote on the release of the Justice Department’s Epstein files — which the House speaker has said he’ll schedule for next week.
“This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,” Trump wrote on Friday.
CNN is reaching out to the Department of Justice and JP Morgan, as well as the people Trump named, about his comments.
President Donald Trump lashed out at congressional Democrats — and some “weak Republicans” — Friday over the push to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticizing those Republicans as “soft and foolish” for backing the effort.
“The Democrats are doing everything in their withering power to push the Epstein Hoax again, despite the DOJ releasing 50,000 pages of documents, in order to deflect from all of their bad policies and losses, especially the SHUTDOWN EMBARRASSMENT, where their party is in total disarray, and has no idea what to do,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Some Weak Republicans have fallen into their clutches because they are soft and foolish,” Trump added.
He went on the argue that Epstein is the Democrats’ “problem,” not Republicans’.
CNN has reported that House GOP leaders are bracing for a significant number of Republicans to support the bipartisan bill led by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna that would compel the Justice Department to release the Epstein files.
The president has yet to respond on camera to this week’s House Oversight Committee release of Epstein emails that mentioned Trump, not stopping to answer reporters’ questions on Thursday during an event in the East Room.
Jeffrey Epstein has been back in the news this week, and the rift between lawmakers and the Trump administration over releasing more information isn’t going away any time soon.
The House is expected to vote on a bill compelling the release of all of the Justice Department’s Epstein case files next week – earlier than expected.
So, here’s what to know.
- How this came about: Reps. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, successfully deployed an arcane tool in the chamber known as a discharge petition to force the vote. Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn in on Wednesday and became the final signature the petition needed to move forward.
- What day next week could this happen? While the floor schedule for next week has not yet been set, House Speaker Mike Johnson said leadership wants to bring up the measure “as soon as possible.” If it passes, there’s no guarantee the effort would get a vote in the GOP-led Senate. Majority Leader John Thune has cited the Justice Department’s release of thousands of pages related to the case as reasons for not needing to pass the bill in the chamber.
- White House efforts: In September, CNN reported that top congressional Republicans and White House allies were working behind the scenes to prevent the vote. And there was even a last-ditch effort by the president and his allies on Wednesday to engage with two of the Republican women helping the effort move forward before it was too late.
- Despite the pressure, some Republicans are expected to vote for the bill: Two more House Republicans — GOP Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Eli Crane of Arizona — said they plan to vote for the bill to release the files. Neither had signed the discharge petition. Today, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN he expects the Epstein legislation to pass, and “potentially pass decisively.”
- This week’s release of documents: The House Committee on Oversight Committee on Wednesday released an additional 20,000 pages of documents the GOP-led panel had received from the late convicted sex offender’s estate. In emails released as part of the tranche, Epstein mentioned Donald Trump by name multiple times.
CNN’s Annie Grayer, Ellis Kim, Alison Main, Manu Raju, Kristen Holmes and Sarah Ferris contributed reporting to this post.
The sprawling 2023 racketeering indictment case against President Donald Trump and several allies for their efforts to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat in Georgia will continue and is now in the hands of a new prosecutor.
The case was assigned in September to Peter Skandalakis, director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, a bipartisan collaboration of six district attorneys and three solicitors general from across the state.
Skandalakis previously said he could also take the case himself if he could not find another prosecutor willing to take it on.
“This morning, an Administrative Order appointing me to the case of State of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump, et al. was filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court of Fulton County,” Skandalakis wrote in a statement this morning.
Remember: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had launched the case, but was removed after a legal fight over her authority.
Visitors will be able to go to many of the Smithsonian museums this weekend, after they were closed for more than a month due to the government shutdown.
Here’s when they are opening, according to the Smithsonian.
Friday:
- The National Museum of American History
- The National Air and Space Museum, including the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which is near Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia.
Saturday:
- The National Museum of African American History and Culture
- The National Museum of African Art
- The National Museum of Asian Art
- The National Zoo
- The National Museum of Natural History will have a delayed opening at 12 p.m. ET.
By Monday:
- On a rolling basis, all other Smithsonian museums, research centers, and public buildings will reopen.
The Smithsonian previously said most museums, except for the museums of American History and Air and Space, would reopen Monday.
In addition, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, which is not part of the Smithsonian Institution, will partially open today and fully open tomorrow.
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