Latest Epstein Files Jolt Washington as New Disclosures Put White House Under Intensifying Pressure

Freshly released House documents alleging Epstein claimed Trump “knew about the girls” shake an already fractured GOP, triggering infighting, media battles, and renewed scrutiny over why Democrats never released the information during four years under Biden.

WASHINGTON | The political earthquake surrounding Jeffrey Epstein has returned at the worst possible moment for President Donald Trump. After a bruising week that saw Republican losses at the ballot box, skepticism from the Supreme Court over Trump’s signature tariffs, and escalating GOP infighting over accusations of antisemitism, the White House is now facing a new crisis: the release of fresh Epstein files.

On Wednesday, House Democrats published documents revealing that Epstein allegedly told associates that Trump “knew about the girls” he was trafficking. The release—landing just as the administration hoped to celebrate the end of the 43-day government shutdown—has knocked the White House off balance and further fractured a party already splintered this year over the so-called Epstein files.

One Trump ally described the moment bluntly: “It takes things that are already complicated for the president and brings them to the surface… It accentuates everything.”

Trump Serves a Misleading Thanksgiving Meal Statistic

Walmart’s 2025 Thanksgiving meal consisting of pre-selected products costs about one-quarter less than last year’s meal, but it also includes fewer grocery items and different food brands. Yet President Donald Trump has been misleadingly touting the decline in the price of this year’s meal without mentioning the reasons for the big decrease.

There’s still a drop in price when comparing the same basket of items as the 2024 meal, but it’s a smaller decrease — 6.5% by our calculations.

In a Nov. 5 Truth Social post, Trump wrote: “Walmart just announced that Prices for a Thanksgiving Dinner is now down 25% since under Sleepy/Crooked Joe Biden, in 2024. AFFORDABILITY is a Republican Stronghold. Hopefully, Republicans will use this irrefutable fact!” He made similar claims about Walmart’s annual holiday promotion in remarks on Nov. 5, 6 and 7, while claiming that grocery prices “are way down.”

Average grocery prices are up — not down, as we wrote earlier this month. The Consumer Price Index for “food-at-home” increased by 1.4% from January to September, and was up 2.7% from September 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But this year’s curated dinner basket from Walmart, at nearly $40, is about 25% less than the $55 price of the 2024 basket, Walmart said. The retail giant has made the meals available for purchase since 2022, and it said this year’s offering, which is supposed to serve 10 people, is its “most affordable holiday meal yet.”

Epstein Emails Reveal 2018 Exchanges With Council of Europe Chief on Possible Russian Contacts

Newly released U.S. congressional documents show Jeffrey Epstein discussed potential links to senior Kremlin officials with then–Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjørn Jagland, raising fresh questions about the disgraced financier’s international network.

WASHINGTON / STRASBOURG | Newly disclosed documents from the U.S. House Oversight Committee reveal that Jeffrey Epstein engaged in direct email exchanges in 2018 with Thorbjørn Jagland, then the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, discussing potential connections to senior Russian government officials—including President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The trove of messages, released as part of a broader congressional document dump, provides a rare glimpse into Epstein’s attempts to remain connected to high-level political actors long after his 2008 sex-crime conviction. The exchanges also cast new light on how Europe’s leading human rights organization intersected, however indirectly, with Epstein’s global network.

Addressing Trump’s Claims About the Pardon of Binance Founder

In defending his Oct. 23 pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, President Donald Trump claimed that Zhao was the victim of a Biden administration “witch hunt.” The billionaire executive known as “CZ” pleaded guilty to allowing money laundering through his cryptocurrency company. He was fined $50 million and served a four-month sentence in a low-security prison and halfway house.

Trump’s comments came during a Nov. 2 interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes.” Trump said, “I don’t know who he is” and “I know nothing about the guy,” though Zhao’s company assisted in business dealings that benefit World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture run by Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a Nov. 4 briefing that the president meant “he does not have a personal relationship with” Zhao. Leavitt also claimed that the judge who heard the case said the sentencing sought by the Biden administration was “egregious and went too far. And so the president is correcting that wrong.”

Prosecutors in the case had sought a three-year sentence for Zhao, while the defense asked for probation with no jail time. The judge agreed that Zhao’s action didn’t warrant a three-year term, but sentenced him to four months in prison. Trump’s pardon did not change the prison sentence, which ended in September 2024.

Experts have concerns about Trump’s pardon of Zhao and the appearance of a conflict of interest on the president’s part.

Here, we’ll look at the basis of the Zhao case, Trump’s claims about the Biden administration’s prosecution of Zhao, and concerns about Trump’s pardon.

Sen. Dick Durbin Admits Democrats “Caved” on Shutdown — Just to Prove a Point About GOP Health Care Policies 🔥

As Democrats face backlash for ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history without health care concessions, Durbin defends the move as symbolic — even as premiums are set to soar.

Washington, D.C. | In a stunning admission that’s fueling backlash across the Democratic base, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said his party “caved” on the government shutdown to make a symbolic point about Republican indifference to rising health insurance costs. The move, which reopened the federal government after a record-long shutdown, came without securing Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions — a core demand of Democrats.

“We proved that Republicans are not sensitive to health care insurance premiums and we are,” Durbin told The Intercept. “National polls show we’ve made a national issue out of it.”

Durbin, the Senate Minority Whip and one of eight Senate Democrats to side with Republicans, insisted that the decision, while unpopular, highlighted the party’s policy values. But critics argue that symbolism came at an enormous cost — both politically and economically.

Trump’s Domestic Deployments Hit Nearly $500 Million as Military Takes Over U.S. City Streets

The Donald Trump administration’s expanding use of the military for urban “occupation” and protest suppression now carries a multi-city price tag approaching $473 million—raising legal, fiscal and civil-liberties alarms.

The cost of deploying U.S. military and National Guard forces into American cities under President Donald Trump’s domestic security strategy has surged toward half a billion dollars, according to a detailed estimate from the non-partisan National Priorities Project (NPP). 

Among the most expensive deployments:

• Approximately $172 million for the June occupation of Los Angeles. 
• Around $270 million for the August federal takeover of Washington, D.C., with daily costs exceeding $1 million. 
• Smaller deployments in other municipalities—such as Portland, Memphis and Chicago—also add millions more to the total.