Thank you for signing up!

Subscribe to more newsletters here

THE SPOTLIGHT is on President Trump’s Justice Department, as separate investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the Intelligence Community’s actions around the 2016 election expand to include some of the biggest names in politics.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed the Department of Justice (DOJ) and a number of high-profile individuals Tuesday, as he seeks further transparency in the Epstein case.

Former President Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller are among those who received subpoenas.

In addition, Comer subpoenaed six former attorneys general spanning administrations: Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder.

“While the Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell’s cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell,” Comer wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Bondi has been under pressure to reveal more details about the case since the DOJ and FBI sought to close the book on the matter after determining Epstein did not keep a “client list.”

Trump has backed Bondi, insisting there is no conspiracy and lashing out at Republicans seeking full transparency.

Trump is also suing The Wall Street Journal, claiming a story they ran about him sending a birthday card to Epstein is false. Attorneys for both parties Tuesday agreed to delay a deposition for Rupert Murdoch.

Meanwhile, the DOJ requested the release of grand jury testimony transcripts in the trials of both Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

In her letter seeking the testimony, Bondi acknowledged that most of what is in the transcripts is already known.

Two of Epstein’s victims questioned the motive of the Trump administration’s move to unseal the testimony.

“What you have done and continue to do is eating at me day after day as you help to perpetuate this story indefinitely,” the victims said.

Maxwell is also objecting to the release of the testimony.

“Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is not,” Maxwell’s lawyers wrote in a filing. “Whatever interest the public may have in Epstein, that interest cannot justify a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy in a case where the defendant is alive, her legal options are viable, and her due process rights remain.”

CNN reports that the Trump administration is considering releasing a transcript from a meeting last month between a top DOJ official who interviewed Maxwell in Florida. The interview happened before Maxwell, who is serving 20 years for sex trafficking, was transferred to a prison in Texas.

MEANWHILE...

Bondi directed DOJ officials to open a grand jury investigation into how Obama administration officials handled intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard in recent weeks has declassified material alleging former Obama officials manipulated or manufactured intelligence to build a narrative that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to get Trump elected.

It's unclear who is being targeted in the grand jury probe, but the administration has previously pointed the finger at former CIA chief John Brennan, former DNI James Clapper and former FBI Director James Comey, among others.

“Following the compelling case outlined by DNI Tulsi Gabbard, which exposed clear and blatant weaponization by corrupt intelligence officials acting at the behest of the Democrat Party and likely former President Obama, the Administration remains committed to conducting a thorough investigation,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said.

“This effort aims to provide the American people with the truth about the extent to which former government officials worked to sabotage the Trump administration and undermine the will of the American people in a clear attempt to subvert our Constitutional Republic,” Fields........

© The Hill