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Oversight Democrats publish new tranche of Epstein estate photos featuring Trump, Clinton and former prince Andrew
Democrats on the House oversight committee have published 19 new photos from the 95,000 they have received from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate today. In the latest drop, there are pictures of Bill Clinton alongside the late sex-offender and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. There are also pictures of Donald Trump and Epstein at social events, and even a picture of the president on board a plane, sitting beside a woman whose face has been redacted.
There are several pictures in the drop which include billionaire Bill Gates.
Another notable face is former Trump adviser and noted ally, Steve Bannon, who appears in one picture sitting across a desk, engaged in conversation with Epstein.
It’s worth noting that appearing in pictures from the estate doesn’t imply any wrongdoing.
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Bannon appears frequently throughout latest Epstein picture drop
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon appears in several of the pictures released by House Democrats on the oversight committee.
As I reported earlier, in one of the photos Bannon is seen having a conversation while sitting across a desk from Epstein.
In another, Epstein is taking a selfie of the pair in front of a full-length mirror. Bannon, who was Donald Trump’s top White House strategist until he was fired less than a year into the president’s first term in office, is also pictured speaking with film director Woody Allen in one photograph.
Several explicit pictures as part of new tranche of photos from Epstein estate
Included in this latest batch of pictures from the Epstein estate are explicit photos of sex toys. One appears to show a black latex glove with ridges on the fingers, and another features ropes, restraints and a book on “shibari” – a type of Japanese bondage.
Another picture features a bowl of “Trump condoms” selling for $4.50. On the parody packaging it makes fun of the president’s style of speech, reading: “I’m HUUUUGE!”
Included in the latest batch of photos from House oversight Democrats today, are several pictures of high profile individuals at public events.
The picture of former prince Andrew and Microsoft founder Bill Gates appears to be from at a summit in London, where the former’s brother – King Charles III – was in attendance. The image in the House oversight batch appears to be a cropped version of a picture available on the photo agency Getty.
Here’s the image from the news wires:
Similarly, a picture of Epstein and his former lawyer Alan Dershowitz is included in the drop of photos, but appears to be an older photo of the pair back in 2004 that was already published.
Here is the news wire image:
In the new batch of photos released by House oversight Democrats, there is also a picture of Donald Trump surrounded by women, some of whom are wearing leis around their necks. All of their faces have been obscured, but the president appears in the middle holding the waists of two of the women.
Oversight Democrats publish new tranche of Epstein estate photos featuring Trump, Clinton and former prince Andrew
Democrats on the House oversight committee have published 19 new photos from the 95,000 they have received from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate today. In the latest drop, there are pictures of Bill Clinton alongside the late sex-offender and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. There are also pictures of Donald Trump and Epstein at social events, and even a picture of the president on board a plane, sitting beside a woman whose face has been redacted.
There are several pictures in the drop which include billionaire Bill Gates.
Another notable face is former Trump adviser and noted ally, Steve Bannon, who appears in one picture sitting across a desk, engaged in conversation with Epstein.
It’s worth noting that appearing in pictures from the estate doesn’t imply any wrongdoing.
Navy sends report to Pentagon about senator Kelly's participation in video to troops - reports
According to multiple outlets, the navy has sent a report to the Pentagon about senator Mark Kelly’s role in a video published to social media last month, where six Democratic members of Congress urged active service members to “refuse illegal orders”.
The video sparked fury from the president, who said the lawmakers were guilty of “seditious behavior” that was “punishable by death”. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth said he would launch an investigation into Kelly – a decorated former navy captain – for possible breaches of military law. This included a memorandum to John Phelan asking the navy secretary to review Kelly and a group of fellow Democrats’ comments in the video.
According to the New York Times, the Pentagon’s office of general xounsel is “providing a legal review and input” of the navy’s report, per a Department of Defense official, who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.
In response, a spokesperson for senator Kelly told the Hill that “it defies belief that with all of the threats facing our country, Pete Hegseth initiated this ridiculous process to try to intimidate senator Kelly for saying something Pete Hegseth himself has said repeatedly.”
A reminder that footage from 2016, of the defense secretary repeatedly saying that service members should refuse “unlawful” orders from a potential president Trump on Fox News, was unearthed by CNN earlier this month.
Judge issues temporary order to block officials from detaining Kilmar Ábrego García
Per our earlier post, a federal judge on Friday morning issued a temporary restraining order to prohibit immigration officials from detaining Kilmar Ábrego García just hours before he was scheduled to appear at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Baltimore.
His lawyers asked the judge to block authorities from detaining him again. The judge says officials cannot re-detain him until the court conducts a hearing on the motion for the temporary restraining order.
Ábrego had been freed from an immigration detention facility in Pennsylvania early on Thursday evening not long after a federal judge in Maryland ordered his release.
On Friday morning, Paula Xinis, a US district judge in Maryland, said that Ábrego cannot be re-detained and in her ruling she wrote that he was likely to succeed in further requests of “relief” from ICE detention, citing the merits of his case.
Trump announces pardon for jailed election clerk, despite convictions on state charges
Donald Trump announced he would pardon former Colorado election clerk Tina Peters. In a post on Truth Social the president wrote that Peters – who is currently serving a nine year state sentence for her attempts to overturn the 2020 election results – is a “Patriot who simply wanted to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest”.
Trump added that “Democrats have been relentless in their targeting” of Peters, who served as the clerk for Mesa County. She was found guilty on state charges of election interference, including four felony counts.
In response to Trump’s announcement, several Democratic officials decried his efforts to overturn a state conviction. A reminder that the constitution grants the president pardon power for federal crimes.
“Tina Peters is rightfully in Colorado state prison,” said senator Michael Bennet. “Trump’s corrupt and political attempts at a pardon won’t work here. Once again, if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.”
Donald Trump is in Washington today. We’ll see him at 3pm ET for a bill signing in the Oval Office. We’ll make sure to bring you the latest lines.
Earlier, he’ll take part in a swearing-in ceremony for Ben Black, the CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, and John Jovanovic, who serves as the chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM).
A reminder that Jovanovic is married to the daughter of Trump’s administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz.
That ceremony is currently closed to the press, but we’ll let you know if that changes.
US admiral leading US troops in Latin America to step down
The admiral in charge of US military forces in Latin America will retire two years early, AP reports, amid rising tensions with Venezuela that include Wednesday’s seizure of an oil tanker and more than 20 deadly strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats.
Three US officials and two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Admiral Alvin Holsey was pushed out by defense secretary Pete Hegseth. Two officials said Hegseth had grown frustrated with Southern Command as he sought to flex US military operations and planning in the region.
One official confirmed that discussion of whether Hegseth would dismiss Holsey surfaced roughly two weeks before the surprise announcement of his departure.
Holsey has not publicly explained his early retirement. Some officials have privately speculated he opposed recent US strikes on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean. However, in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, Holsey insisted his decision had nothing to do with the operations in his command, according to comments by Republican lawmaker Mike Rogers published in Politico.
One source familiar with the matter said president Donald Trump is expected to nominate Lieutenant General Frank Donovan, vice commander of US Special Operations Command, as Holsey’s permanent successor. The source cautioned that the nomination has not yet been formalised and could change.
US envoy John Coale held talks with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko during a visit to Minsk, a Telegram channel linked to the Belarusian presidential administration said.
Coale has been tasked by president Donald Trump with negotiating the release of political prisoners in Belarus. Trump has urged Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, to free up to 1,400 people that Trump has called “hostages”.
Belarus released 52 prisoners of various nationalities in September.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is due to check-in with immigration authorities less than 14 hours after he was released from detention on a judge’s orders.
Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown earlier this year when he was wrongly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. He was last taken into custody in August during a similar check-in. He’s scheduled to appear at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore.
A judge ordered him released yesterday, saying federal authorities detained him after he returned to the U.S. without any legal basis.
Americans are deeply skeptical of president Donald Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, though he is shoring up support among his core Republican followers who have long focused on the case, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The poll, completed on Monday, found that most Americans believe Trump’s administration is covering up information about the late sex offender, including his 2019 death and his ties to rich and powerful people, and do not believe Trump’s claim that he was unaware of Epstein’s alleged trafficking of teenage girls when the two were friends decades ago.
Only 23% of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling the ongoing scandal, the poll found, while 52% disapprove. However, the poll found he appears to be easing the concerns of his supporters: 53% of Republicans said they approved of the way he was handling the issue, up from 44% last month. That is still well below the 85% approval rating Trump enjoys overall among Republicans.
Shares of cannabis companies have jumped after reports that Donald Trump is expected to push the government to dramatically loosen federal restrictions on marijuana, Reuters reports.
US-listed shares of cannabis-pharmaceutical company Tilray Brands gained 28%, while other cannabis-focused companies SNDL, Canopy Growth and ETF AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis were up between 13.5% and 32.5% in premarket trading.
According to a report in the Washington Post, Trump plans to direct agencies to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, reducing oversight of the plant and its derivatives to the same level as some common prescription painkillers and other drugs.
“We believe this would open the door for pharmaceutical companies to seek approval for more cannabis products, which could then be dispensed the same as other prescription drugs,” TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg said in a note.
Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has spoken about US aid cuts that he says have led to “lots of deaths” in developing countries.
Speaking to Politico, Gates said: “Nobody wants to take responsibility for the tragedy that’s going on here. In my dialogue with President Trump, he clearly cares about these issues and wants to find a generous level for the spending so that the US won’t be responsible for these big increases.
“So I’m hopeful that what we’ve seen this year, where there were sudden and massive cuts — you just can’t deny that’s led to lots of deaths.”
The wide-ranging interview also took in Gates and US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr agreeing that they would not share a “common view” over vaccines, as well as comments on the rise of AI: “We should all be in a state of wonder. Even this last month, the improvements are amazing to me. I spend a significant amount of time looking at how we should use it,” Gates said.
With Democrats just a few seats shy of reclaiming the House majority, Republicans are watching developments with a growing sense of unease and frustration that the dynamics of Donald Trump’s first midterm — when Democrats scored a net gain of 40 seats in 2018 — are at risk of repeating, AP reports.
“If you’re not concerned, then you’re living in a cave,” Republican senator Jim Justice told reporters. “If you’re not watching the elections that are happening all the time, then you’re living in a cave. We’re not good at our messaging a lot of times as Republicans. The Democrats are professionals at it. We’re not good at it.”
The latest setbacks came this week when a Democrat won the Miami mayor’s race for the first time in three decades. Democrats also won a special election in a historically Republican district in Georgia. Latest polling shows Trump’s approval ratings are down since March (see 10.52).
Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, recently told a podcast that Trump will campaign aggressively next year and the party will effectively “put him on the ballot.” But the challenge of that strategy was on display this week when a trip to Pennsylvania intended to focus on combating inflation was instead overshadowed by grievances about immigrants from “filthy” countries.
“We have a lot of work to do and a lot of it’s going to depend at the national level in particular on what Republicans do to affect the affordability issues,” said Republican state senator John Braun. “People are interested in many things, a wide range of issues. But top of mind right now is how do I support myself, my family in the current environment? We’re going to have to do the right things over the next 11 months.”
Kosovo has started accepting migrants deported from the US and who are not originally from Kosovo, caretaker prime minister Albin Kurti said late on Thursday, Reuters reports.
Kosovo agreed to a request from Donald Trump’s administration to initially take in 50 deportees.
“We are accepting those that the US did not want on their territory,” Kurti told Kanal10 television.
He gave no details on which countries they were from, and said only one or two have arrived so far.
Washington is looking for partners to receive third-party nationals as it seeks to deliver on Trump’s promise of record-level deportations.
Kosovo, a Balkan country of 1.6 million people, already has a deal in place to receive 300 foreign prisoners from Denmark from 2027 in return for €210m (£184m) over the next decade, and has expressed interest in receiving deportees from the UK.
Approval ratings of Donald Trump’s handling of the economy and immigration are down about 10 points since March, according to the latest polling by AP-NORC.
In March 2025, a few months into Trump’s second term, his overall job approval was 42%. Similar shares approved of how he was handling of the economy (40%) and immigration (49%). Since then, fewer adults have a positive view of how Trump is handling his job overall (36%), the economy (31%), and immigration (38%).
There continue to be stark partisan divisions in how Trump’s job performance is viewed by the public, the pollsters found. Overall, 6 in 10 have a negative opinion, including about 9 in 10 Democrats and 7 in 10 independents. Conversely, 8 in 10 Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the presidency.
Border security remains his best issue on the poll with 50% approval, including getting positive marks from nearly all Republicans, 19% of Democrats, and 36% of independents.
Trump says that bipartisan cooperation on healthcare is possible, as Obamacare subsidies inch closer to expiring
Striking an uncharacteristically bipartisan tone, the US president, Donald Trump, said that Republicans and Democrats could work together on healthcare, as insurance premiums look likely to soar in January.
Speaking at last night’s Congressional ball, Trump said: “I really believe we can work on healthcare together and come up with something that’s going to be much better, much less expensive for the people, less expensive for our nation. But really, most importantly, better and less expensive for the people.”
Earlier on Thursday, the Senate rejected competing proposals by Republicans and Democrats to address a looming healthcare crisis, which could leave 24 million Americans vulnerable to significantly higher costs from 1 January, when insurance premiums through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, are on course to more than double.
Congress will begin an end-of-year holiday recess next week and not return until 5 January, which leaves it looking like new premiums will be locked in for those who had relied on the ACA enhanced subsidy.
“So tonight, we’re going to set aside all political differences. We’re not going to criticise each other,” Trump said. “We’re going to love each other. And we’re going to come together, not as Democrats and Republicans, but as fellow Americans, to give thanks for this nation, which is so great indeed.”
