Blockbuster NYT Reveal About Judge Ross Scandal
The Times spoke to three of Judge Ross's clerks and obtained the "offensively vague" apology letter.

One of President Donald Trump's top administration allies has been "thrown in front of the bus," according to his longtime biographer, with a bombshell new report making them look like a "dope" acting counter to the president's interests.The New York Times this week released a major new report, culled from an upcoming book two of its reporters wrote about the second Trump administration, revealing the panicked reactions that top figures in the Trump administration had to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, once it was clear to them that the president appeared in the files related to his crimes numerous times, and in damaging ways.Among those figures was Vice President JD Vance, who is depicted in the report as wanting to go the route of full transparency, believing that Trump would be fine with certain salacious allegations coming to light, despite how testy he had been with staffers about the subject. He also offered to do interviews about the situation, as part of an effort to be open about the files. These suggestions from Vance were largely dismissed by the rest of the administration, who strained for ways to protect Trump at all costs while feeding the MAGA base's demand for Epstein disclosure.Michael Wolff, a longtime reporter and author who had extensive access to Trump and his inner circle throughout his political career, said during the latest episode of his Daily Beast podcast, "Inside Trump's Head," that Vance was obviously being set up as some sort of scapegoat, given how poorly he came off in the report.“More interesting, probably than what it says about Epstein, is JD Vance, who is really dumped... thrown in front of the bus here,” Wolff told co-host Joanna Coles. “I mean, he looks like a dope. He’s described as panicking. Every adjective connected to him makes him seem like... he is, A,... not on the president’s side, and B, that he has no idea what he’s doing.”Coles countered that the report seemed to make Vance look better, like he "understood the enormity of the Epstein files,” and that he was “trying to get the Epstein files out there to pretend that the government was transparent.” Wolff further argued that the insiders who talked with reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan were more so attempting to make the vice president look out of step with Trump's plans.“JD Vance was not on Donald Trump’s side here,” Wolff said, adding that “this is all an audience-of-one thing.” He continued: “And remember, Donald Trump’s side is very clearly, ‘There is nothing her ... Why is anyone talking about Epstein? I don’t want to hear it. If you’re talking about it, you’re my enemy, not my friend. So the White House is throwing JD Vance over the side, that’s what’s going on here.”
The Times spoke to three of Judge Ross's clerks and obtained the "offensively vague" apology letter.
President Donald Trump is not only underwater with Democrats and Independents, but now he's losing young Republicans. CNN data analyst Harry Enten revealed that when it comes to the Iran war and foreign policy in general, Trump has lost his own base. "Trump [has a] historically strong performance with younger voters. And here we're talking about voters under the age of 45. He beat Kamala Harris with them, or at least beat the prior Republican baselines with them," said Enten. "And you can see it right here on foreign policy. He absolutely crushed Kamala Harris, who was more trusted under the age of 45, on foreign policy."Trump had a nine-point lead over Harris on foreign policy, but that has shifted significantly. "He has a net approval rating now on foreign policy — 40 points underwater, a nearly 50-point switcheroo," Enten said. "So, after putting in the strongest performance, more trusted on foreign policy, the first since George W. Bush all the way back in '04, [Trump] has completely lost that advantage way down there. He is no longer groovy. According to the young people of America," Enten said. Those foreign policy numbers are coming from Trump's failure in the Iran war. "Just take a look at how people under the age of 45 feel about Iran not being worth the cost," said Enten. "Look at this: four in five —81 percent said the Iran war is not worth the cost. And look at Trump's disapproval. Basically simpatico with this, 77 percent of those under the age of 45 say the Iran war, or, excuse me, say that Trump's disapproval of the Iran war is way up there, up there like a rocket at 77 percent."The generations make it clear that it isn't worth the cost. The older end of those under 45 are members of the Millennial Generation, who faced the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Brown University's Costs of War Project showed that the casualty and injury rate for the 19 years of war come overwhelmingly from the Millennial Generation. The Harvard Institute of Politics showed that "young adults [18 to 29] are overwhelmingly skeptical about the current U.S. strategy in Iran."
A federal judge chastised the Trump administration for ignoring a ruling last week ordering them to immediately resume processing of immigration applications paused in the wake of a deadly shooting on National Guard officers. U.S. District Judge John McConnell last week found the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was unlawfully pausing immigration processing for nationals from a…
On Thursday morning, President Donald Trump threatened to hit Iran “VERY HARD,” seize its main oil export terminal at Kharg Island, and take “total control” of its energy industry. By the afternoon, he’d canceled it all on indications that Iran had approved “discussions and final points” toward a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz […]
Brent crude falls as optimism rises strait of Hormuz could reopen over the weekendBusiness live – latest updatesGlobal oil prices fell on Friday to lows not seen since the first week of the Iran crisis after Donald Trump claimed he was close to reaching a peace deal with Tehran.The price of Brent crude began to tumble from about $93 a barrel in overnight trade after the US president called off further military strikes against Iran scheduled for the evening. Continue reading...
When my June 6 Fox News column ran about finding nearly $30,000 in unclaimed money for my cousin, I expected readers to be surprised. I did not expect the flood. Within days, thousands of emails and comments poured in. Some readers had found money. Some wanted to know how to search. Some were trying to […]
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is largely targeting people from the countries most vulnerable to displacement from climate-driven disasters, a Guardian analysis shows. As the Trump administration pushes policies to boost planet-heating fossil fuels, millions of people are being forced to flee their homelands due to […]
The Trump administration’s Epstein investigator is getting his shot at running U.S. national intelligence.The president’s nominating process to replace Tulsi Gabbard took a sudden right turn Thursday when he named Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, as his permanent director of national intelligence.“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay. I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.Clayton has previously worked as a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, providing counsel on corporate crisis management. He was also an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s law school. He was handed his role atop the Southern District of New York without any prosecutorial experience, and seemingly does not have any relevant experience to run America’s national security operation, either.The president had initially tapped Bill Pulte, a national real estate developer serving as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to temporarily serve in Gabbard’s stead. But Pulte—who similarly had no relevant experience for the job—became a point of contention with lawmakers, who argued that his appointment, even just as acting DNI, was effectively illegal as his résumé lacked requirements for the job that had been written into the law.To prevent Pulte becoming permanent DNI, Democrats blocked efforts to renew FISA Section 702, a statute that allows federal agencies such as the NSA and the CIA to surveil people without warrants, but that is set to expire Friday.It is not yet clear how Clayton will change opinions—or the written requirements. Why the White House singled him out as an exceptional candidate to satisfy the administration’s agenda is far less murky.Clayton has passed countless litmus tests proving his loyalty to the MAGA movement. He has seeded doubt in America’s election integrity, claiming as recently as Monday that there is a “deep problem with voting in America.” He has also defended Trump’s $1.8 billion taxpayer-bankrolled slush fund for the president’s aggrieved political allies, arguing with CNBC last month that Trump was entitled to “recourse” after a government contractor leaked his tax returns.“Anybody whose tax returns have been intentionally leaked should have recourse against the government,” Clayton said.And Clayton unquestioningly did the president’s bidding with regard to his appointment to the SDNY, probing Jeffrey Epstein’s social connections—so long as they tied back to former Democratic President Bill Clinton, former Obama administration adviser Larry Summers, and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman. Later, Clayton was handed an additional Trump administration priority in overseeing the investigation into Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, despite his dubious financial ties to the cases.It is not clear how quickly the Senate will move to confirm Clayton’s confirmation. Among other steps, Clayton still has to fill out a detailed questionnaire, undergo an FBI background check, and sit for a public hearing before the upper chamber conducts its final vote.This story has been updated.