>DOJ seeks to question Jeffrey Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell
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<The Justice Department announced Tuesday it will seek to interview Ghislaine Maxwell in the coming days as part of its ongoing review of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
<Maxwell, a longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted in 2022 on federal sex trafficking charges and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
<"Justice demands courage. For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask: what do you know?" Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on X Tuesday morning.
<He added, "I’ve contacted her counsel. I intend to meet with her soon. No one is above the law—and no lead is off-limits."
>Johnson faces pressure over Epstein files legislation as August recess nears
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<A dispute over the so-called Epstein files has brought activity in the House of Representatives to a near standstill.
<Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would require the government to publicly release all files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But House Speaker Mike Johnson has so far declined to schedule the bill for a vote before the August recess.
<Despite the standoff, Johnson insisted Republicans remain united on the matter.
<"There is no daylight between the House Republicans, the House, and the President on maximum transparency. He has said that he wants all the credible files related to Epstein to be released," Johnson said. "He's asked the Attorney General to request the Grand jury files of the court, all of that is in process right now. My belief is we need the administration to have the space to do what it is doing and if further congressional action is necessary or appropriate, then we'll look at that."
>Epstein scandal sparks $10 billion clash between Trump and Murdoch
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<Longtime allies Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch have experienced highs and lows that fluctuate in tandem with their ratings and popularity. Murdoch helped build Trump's career, notably through coverage on Fox News and in the New York Post, while Trump's scandals and rise in politics brought audiences and readers to Murdoch's media empire. Since The Wall Street Journal – owned by the media mogul – published an article on July 17 about the ties between Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, the New York sexual predator found hanged in his cell in 2019, the relationship between the two men has reached a breaking point.
<At the center of this crisis is a scrapbook, one among many, created in 2003 for Epstein's 50th birthday. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump had, at the request of Ghislaine Maxwell – Epstein's associate who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 – signed an explicit drawing of a naked woman, with the comment: "Happy Birthday − and may every day be another wonderful secret."
<The president, who has tried to explain that he cut ties with Epstein before the criminal accusations began two decades ago and was never involved in his secret and criminal life, vehemently denied the report. "This is not me. This is a fake thing. It's a fake Wall Street Journal story," he told the newspaper's reporters. His calls to The Wall Street Journal's editor-in-chief, British journalist Emma Tucker, and his interventions with the paper's owner, the American-Australian media tycoon Murdoch, were to no avail. The story broke anyway.
<Furious, Trump filed a lawsuit in a Florida court on Friday, July 18, demanding the staggering sum of $10 billion. "President Trump (...) looks forward to suing and holding accountable the once great Wall Street Journal. It has truly turned out to be a 'Disgusting and Filthy Rag' and, writing defamatory lies like this, shows their desperation to remain relevant," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.