Purported Epstein suicide note released
A federal judge unsealed a purported suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein on Wednesday. The unverified and undated document was placed on the court docket in the case of a former cellmate of the late convicted sex offender who said he had found the note. The unsigned note said, in part: “They investigated me for month – found NOTHING!!! It is a treat to be able to chose ones time to say goodbye. NO FUN – NOT WORTH IT!!” District Judge Kenneth Karas of the Southern District of New York ordered the release of the note following a request from The New York Times. In a court filing, the Justice Department indicated it did not know if the purported note is legitimate. “There appears to be a strong public interest in the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death as described in the unsealing motion,” the department said.
Lutnick wasn’t telling all about relationship with Epstein
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was grilled by congressional investigators Wednesday about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein following revelations that his contact with the late convicted sex offender extended years beyond what he initially claimed. Lutnick is the highest-ranking Trump administration official prominently named in the Epstein files outside of Trump himself. Lutnick’s appearance on Capitol Hill underscores that the Epstein scandal still hangs over Trump and his administration, despite the president’s repeated efforts to move on from it. Lutnick faced questions from both Democrats and Republicans on the committee related to his multiple interactions with Epstein, including a 2012 visit to Epstein’s Caribbean island, which he previously said had not happened. The Republican-led panel is expected to question former Attorney General Pam Bondi later this month about her role in overseeing the release of the Epstein case files.
Trump says no deadline for talks with Iran
Donald Trump says there no longer is a deadline for Iran to begin peace talks with the U.S. That followed Trump telling the New York Post that he’s not sending U.S. officials to the Middle East for new negotiations. Earlier, Trump posted on social media that if Iran doesn’t agree to a peace deal he will resume bombing that country. French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called on both the U.S. and Iran to immediately lift the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz without any conditions. Various reports say that the U.S. has given Iran a 14-point plan that would halt fighting while detailed negotiations take place in a 30-day window.
Judge refuses to order DOJ to return seized election ballots
A federal judge said Wednesday he would not order the Justice Department to return ballots from the 2020 presidential election it seized from Fulton County, Georgia, rejecting a request by county officials. Judge JP Boulee said the county had not met the high legal bar that would allow him to intervene. The FBI searched a Fulton County elections office in January and seized election materials. The county quickly filed a lawsuit to retrieve the documents. The FBI has been probing what the Justice Department has described as irregularities in how Fulton County carried out the 2020 election, which Donald Trump has falsely claimed was rigged. Fulton County officials have proposed in court filings the criminal investigation appears to be a “pretext to acquire records that this Administration was unable to quickly secure via the civil litigation process.”
Chief Justice Robert defends his court
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts defended the court he leads when speaking at a legal conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. Roberts denied that the justices are part of the country’s political process and claimed that they are not making political decisions. Roberts said that he and the other justices are making their best efforts to figure out what the Constitution means and whether matters brought before the court comply with what the Constitution says. Roberts did not name any particular cases nor judges but did say that specific justices should not be criticized for the decisions they make. The conservative majority on the Roberts Court has come under sharp criticism for its overturning of Roe v. Wade, gutting of the Voting Rights Act and shielding Donald Trump from prosecution for any criminal acts he commits while performing the duties of president.
Republicans want $1 billion for Trump’s ballroom
Donald Trump took to social media on Wednesday to defend his White House ballroom project, which he again said would cost $400 million without a single dollar of taxpayer money being spent on the project. Trump’s comment came after leading Republicans on Capitol Hill said they planned to appropriate $1 billion in taxpayer money for the ballroom project. They said the Secret Service would use some of the money for security aspects of the new facility that apparently would also include top secret military facilities. The Republicans said they planned to include the funding in a spending package for immigration enforcement that could be passed on just party-line votes.
