Justice Department defends decision not to release, unredact more Epstein files

The DOJ’s response came in the final hours of a court-ordered deadline to remove redactions in at least a dozen documents.

Justice Department defends decision not to release, unredact more Epstein files

The Justice Department (DOJ) declined on Thursday to release additional unredacted records from its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, telling a federal judge that it has already adequately complied with the law. The DOJ’s response came in the final hours of a court-ordered deadline to remove redactions in at least a dozen documents…

Trump's latest job report raises red flags for CNN analyst

The Department of Labor's latest economic report revealed concerning trends despite a declining unemployment rate of 4.2%. Job creation fell sharply to just 57,000 over three months, down from 129,000 in the previous report, according to the survey released Thursday morning. CNN senior business reporter David Goldman highlighted red flags in specific sectors: nursing jobs added only 22,000 over the past year, compared to 38,000 the previous year, while hospitality hiring experienced significant decline despite multiple cities hosting World Cup games. "That is something that we need to watch," Goldman said.He noted economists expect future revisions to clarify the numbers. "I think, and there are a number of economists who are smarter than me who think, that this might change as we get those revisions in the future months, because this is kind of defying logic and defining what we can see with our own eyes," Goldman said.Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.

‘So dumb!’: Reporter who nailed Trump over Epstein unloads another thundering beatdown

Reporter Katie Phang recently nabbed a huge win against interim AG Todd Blanche and his crusade to keep the Epstein files under wraps. After months of stalling by the administration of President Donald Trump and ignoring the letter of a new law demanding the release of the sex-trafficker’s files, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan opened the floodgates on Trump’s longtime friend. Sullivan sided with former MS NOW show host Katie Phang in her lawsuit demanding the Trump administration adhere to the Epstein Transparency Act.Now, fresh off her big win, Phang tells “Left Hook” podcaster Wajahat Ali that Blanche, Trump and his entire crew appeared to be a bunch of idiots who had no real plan to protect Trump from being implicated in the Epstein files.“They're damned if they do and damned if they don't,” howled Phang. “You either produce it and now we have information that I and others can track down and do more reporting on, or you don't … it means they're trying to hide s——.”“If I were them I'd comply,” Phang told Ali. “I'd say ‘here are the names of the co-conspirators. Here are the names of the bad people that sent these terrible f—— emails. Here are the names of possible perpetrators. Have a nice day.’ But they are so dumb the way that they play this game. They had no f—— strategy and p—— off a federal judge like Emmett Sullivan … [who] told [Trump conspiracist] Michael Flynn to his face ‘you are a traitor to this country.’”Sullivan’s ruling means Blanche now must explain to a court why he shouldn't be forced to release names redacted from emails and documents that reference potentially damning videos and allegations of abuse of minors. Also included in redacted info includes the potential names of Epstein’s co-conspirators, as well as potentially damaging FBI interview notes from a victim who claimed Epstein introduced her to President Donald Trump when she was only 13.Phang told Ali that she had no doubt Sullivan put Trump administration in terrible danger.“Starting last year right … in the spring of 2025 they convene in the situation room about the Epstein files and it's not just the vice president of the United States, JD Vance there,” said Phang. “It was also then-attorney general Pam Bondi. It was FBI director Kash Patel. It's the deputy director of the FBI, Dan Bongino. It was then-deputy attorney general Todd Blanche. … It's the White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. It's the White House council … and a slew of other people. If something [fatal] had happened to that situation room pretty much … the entirety of the trump administration upper echelon would be f—— exterminated.”“The fact that you convene all those people repeatedly in the Situation Room you don't have to be a Rhodes scholar to figure out that there is something politically toxically horribly bad for the President of the United States [in those files],” she said.Phang added that she deliberately targeted Blanche in the suit to make him the prime target.“Unlike in other lawsuits when the DOJ is being sued and they parade in some junior federal prosecutor who has to go hat-in-hand to sit there and explain what happened or why they didn't do it, I only sued one person,” Phang said gleefully. “So, Todd Blanche … is gonna have to show up. You can't just send in some lackey.”

More New Poll Data on Senate Races That Doesn't Look Good for Dems

New: Dems Are Going to Freak Out at Latest Maine Senate Poll

North Carolina high school counselor arrested for allegedly sending X-rated pics to students

North Carolina educator 37-year-old Lesli Lambeth Bryant was slapped with two counts of indecent liberties and second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, court docs show.

City officials raise Somali flag after cancelling Independence Day fireworks

A city in New York appears to be celebrating America’s 250th birthday differently. Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan confirmed Tuesday that the city cancelled its Independence Day firework […]