Week 38 — The Return – The Weekly List

This week, the Epstein Files scandal continued to dominate the news, despite Trump and his regime’s best efforts to distract with shiny coins and conspiracy theories. Trump didn’t help himself much in the effort to change the subject, and he continued to bring up the topic while visiting Scotland. Notably, in Scotland he showcased his golf courses while conducting presidential business, something that in the first regime would have gotten much more attention but now seemingly has been normalized.

Which brings me to covering Trump and the truth. A setback this week as the Washington Post fact checker took an early buyout, and the Jeff Bezos-owned paper made no effort to ensure the continuation of his work. Notably, Bezos has been vying for more government business after Trump’s split with Elon Musk. The Paramount-Skydance merger closed, with unprecedented contingencies put in place by the Federal Trade Commission, again in an effort to stifle media coverage and accountability for Trump.

Some shocking developments of capitulation this week, including Columbia University settling with the regime for more than $200 million, and reportedly Harvard University considering doing the same. The Senate voted 50–49 to confirm Emil Bove to a judicial role, with almost all Republicans playing along with Trump, despite three whistleblowers coming forward. Troubling stories continue at the Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services, and the Pentagon. The Justice Department has also set new troubling precedents in extending what are meant to be temporary roles.

Gallup found Trump’s approval had fallen to 37%, with just 29% of Independents approving, a low for his second regime, and the lowest approval of any modern day president at the six month mark. Just 38% approved of his handling of immigration, and 37% the economy.
On Wednesday, WSJ reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi and deputy AG Todd Blanche told Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein files. Trump was also told that many other high-profile figures were named, and hundreds of names were included.
They also told Trump that they did not plan to release any more documents related to the investigation, citing the files containing child sexual abuse material and victims’ personal information; that decision was not made public until July 7.
In a statement to the Journal, Bondi and Blanche claimed nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and that their talk with Trump was a routine briefing. FBI Director Kash Patel has privately told other government officials that Trump’s name appeared in the files.
Shortly after, a House Oversight subcommittee voted 8–2, with three Republicans joining Democrats, to subpoena the DOJ for the Epstein files in their possession, with the names of the victims redacted.
On Wednesday, a federal judge in Florida denied a request by the Trump regime to release grand jury transcripts, saying laws on criminal procedure generally forbid courts from unsealing grand jury testimony except in narrow circumstances, which this request did not meet.
A federal judge in New York also turned down a request from Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer to gain access to grand jury transcripts related to her case.
On Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released new documents, telling reporters that Obama had conducted a “yearslong coup and treasonous conspiracy,” and that she had referred documents to the FBI, an unprecedented claim against a president.
Trump praised Gabbard for the distraction, telling Republicans in Congress, “She’s, like, hotter than everybody. She’s the hottest one in the room right now.” Notably, what she and Trump were publicly claiming was not borne out by information in the files.
The documents did not offer any evidence of criminal behavior, and appeared to be part of a distract-and-deflect strategy. Allies of Gabbard also worried that her effort was an example of the politicization of intelligence that she has vowed to stamp out.
NYT reported that Bondi was given little advance notice of Gabbard’s announcement calling for an investigation, putting the attorney general in a difficult spot, because the evidence made public by Gabbard did not bear out her claims.
Hours later, the DOJ announced on their website the formation of a task force to look into Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations that the Obama administration ordered an investigation into his 2016 campaign’s connections to Russia to destroy him, offering scant details.
On Thursday, Blanche interviewed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, in Tallahassee, Florida. Experts noted it was highly unusual for a senior DOJ official to conduct such an interview, nor were his intentions clear.
ABC News reported that Maxwell initiated the meeting, and was given limited immunity by Blanche, meaning her answers to his questions could not be used against her. Blanche alone interviewed her for nine hours over two days.
On Thursday, in what also was viewed as a distraction tactic from the Epstein case, Trump visited the Federal Reserve renovation site, and argued with Chair Jerome Powell after he presented an incorrect estimate of the cost of the renovation, and Powell corrected him.
Trump’s visit to the Federal Reserve, an independent agency, was highly unusual for a president. The last to do so was George W. Bush to see Ben Bernanke be sworn in.
NYT reported the cost to renovate the Air Force One from Qatar is being hidden by the Trump regime, using unprecedented tactics. There was a $934 million transfer of funds from an over-budget Pentagon program to modernize nuclear missiles into an unnamed classified project.
Little information is public about the total cost of the renovation. Additionally, $4 billion has already been spent on the behind-schedule presidential planes that Boeing was supposed to deliver last year.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled the Trump regime can remove the Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, clearing the way for the regime to seize control of the federal bureau. No explanation was given by the majority for their ruling.
On Thursday, the DOJ named Alina Habba again as U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, allowing her to remain in the post for at least the next 210 days, ending a days long standoff. Experts said the regime pushed new boundaries and set new precedent in doing so.
The Trump regime also unilaterally extended the terms of the interim federal prosecutors in Southern California and Nevada, who were also serving in temporary appointments that were set by law to expire.
On Thursday, former Jan. 6 prosecutor Michael Gordon and two ex-DOJ officials sued the Trump regime over their firings, saying the regime disregarded “long-standing statutory and regulatory protections that govern how and when members of the civil service can be terminated.”
On Monday, in an unprecedented move, the DOJ fired Roger Alford and William Rinner, who had lengthy antitrust experience and served in the antitrust division during Trump’s first regime, after a disagreement on a settlement with a company who hired Trump allies as lawyers.
On Monday, Bondi posted on X that the DOJ had filed a complaint against Judge James Boasberg, who has ruled against Trump’s deportation plans, “for making improper public comments” about Trump and his regime.
The complaint cites comments Boasberg made in March at the Judicial Conference of the United States, which Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts attended, that he believed the Trump regime would “disregard rulings of federal courts” and trigger “a constitutional crisis.”
WAPO reported a third whistleblower came forward to challenge Trump’s nomination of Emil Bove, saying Bove misled lawmakers during his confirmation hearing about his handling of the dismissal of public corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
On Tuesday, Bove was confirmed by a 50–49 vote, with two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, voting against his nomination. Bove had been the most controversial of the 15 judicial nominees by Trump so far.
Trump also pressured Sen. Chuck Grassley, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a Truth Social post to eliminate blue slips “IMMEDIATELY,” adding, do “not let the Democrats laugh at him and the Republican Party for being weak and ineffective.”
On Wednesday, a federal appeals court voted 2–1 to uphold a lower court ruling that found that Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship was very likely unconstitutional, keeping a nationwide injunction in place for now.
On Friday, a third court blocked Trump from ending birthright citizenship. A federal judge joined a district court and appellate panel of judges in finding that a nationwide injunction to more than a dozen states remains in force under an exception to the Supreme Court ruling.
On Wednesday, Columbia University said it had reached a deal with the Trump regime to pay more than $220 million to the federal government in order to get its federal research money restored, which was canceled over accusations of the school’s failure to combat antisemitism.
WSJ reported the Trump regime is seeking fines from several other universities over their failures to stop antisemitism, including Cornell, Duke, Northwestern, and Brown, and is seeking hundreds of millions from Harvard University.
NYT reported that Harvard was considering spending up to $500 million to end its dispute with the Trump regime, but with a redline at infringement on the university’s academic freedom. Trump has privately demanded that Harvard pay more than Columbia.
On Tuesday, Harvard said it would share thousands of employment eligibility verification forms with the Trump regime, after the regime asked this month to review the records.
On Tuesday, the Trump regime froze $108 million in federal funding to Duke University’s medical school and health care system, accusing the school of “systemic racial discrimination.”
After the faculty senate of George Mason University adopted a resolution supporting the school’s president and its efforts around diversity after the Trump regime opened an investigation in Week 37, the DOJ said it would investigate the faculty too.
The Education Department said it would investigate five universities offering aid to students in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, claiming such programs violate civil rights laws, because they offer scholarships to DACA students but not U.S. citizens.
On Friday, the Trump regime, under pressure from 10 bipartisan Senators, said it would release $5.5 billion in school funding that had been approved by Congress and frozen without explanation, bringing to an end a chaotic month for school districts.
On Friday, the Education Department said it would investigate the Oregon Department of Education, after it said it received a complaint from a conservative non-profit group that state was allowing transgender girls to compete on girls’ sports teams.
Health and Human Services Sec. Robert Kennedy, Jr. rescinded a federal recommendations for all flu vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that anti-vaxxers falsely linked to autism. With the move, insurers will not be required to cover the cost of vaccines.
WSJ reported Kennedy plans to dismiss all 16 panel members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which determines which cancer screenings and other preventive health measures insurers must cover, claiming the members of the panel are too “woke.”
Dr. Vinay Prasad, the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine and gene therapy official, resigned, after a pressure campaign by far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who highlighted his past statements of support for figures on the left, despite his support from Kennedy.
A federal judge ruled Planned Parenthood clinics must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding, blocking the Trump regime’s efforts to defund the organization if it continued to provide abortions, as required in his signature legislation.
Attorneys general from 20 mostly Democratic states sued the Trump regime over Trump’s signature legislation, saying it would strip care from more than 1 million patients, and threaten health care access for many low-income Americans.
Reuters reported the newly constituted board of the U.S. Institute for Peace tapped right-wing ideologue Darren Beattie as its leader. Beattie was terminated as a speech writer for Trump in 2018 after reporting he had spoken at a conference attended by well-known white nationalists.
WAPO reported DOGE is using artificial intelligence tools, with a goal of cutting half of federal regulations by the first anniversary of Trump’s inauguration. The tool will examine 200,000 federal regulations to assess which can be eliminated because they are not required by law.
WAPO reported the Pentagon’s inspector general found that messages shared by Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth on Signal previewing the bombing campaign in Yemen were derived from classified emails, contradicting the Trump regime’s claims that no classified information was shared.
Hegseth’s team lashed out at the inspector general, claiming the inquiry was “clearly a political witch hunt” and “a sham, conducted in bad faith and with extreme bias,” and baselessly claiming that the findings were leaked to the media by “Biden administration holdovers.”
NYT reported that Hegseth has started requiring that nominees for four-star-general positions meet with Trump before their nominations are finalized, a break from past practice, and a politicization of the process.
WAPO reported a June 9 ICE memo directed ICE field officers to significantly increase the number of immigrants in the Alternatives to Detention program wearing GPS ankle bracelets monitors as they wait for their cases to be resolved. Currently 24,000 out of 183,000 in the program wear monitors.
NYT reported Glenn Valley Foods, a Nebraska meatpacking company, said production had plummeted by 70% after an ICE raid removed more than half its workforce, with many deported already or being held in a detention center. The company questioned how it could go on.
NBC News reported ICE has been targeting homeless shelters in Los Angeles since May, causing immigrants to be afraid to go outside, and needing staffers to accompany them to run errands, go to work, and appear in court.
On Wednesday, a federal judge in Tennessee ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be released and returned to Maryland while he awaits his trial, and federal judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ordered that he be placed under the same supervision as before he was wrongly deported.
Judge Xinis barred immigration authorities from taking Abrego into custody after his release in Tennessee, and ordered the Trump regime to give him at least three days notice if they move to deport him. The dual orders mark a resounding defeat for the Trump regime.
On Thursday, Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, 27, a Venezuelan migrant who spent four months at CECOT, filed a claim against Homeland Security, accusing it of wrongful detention and removal to El Salvador, a first step to suing to clear his name.
On Thursday, the DOJ sued New York City and Mayor Adams, claiming the city is interfering with the regime’s immigration enforcement through its sanctuary city laws, which it claimed violate the Constitution, which gives federal laws precedence over state laws.
On Friday, a federal judge dismissed the Trump’s regime’s lawsuit against Chicago over its sanctuary city laws, saying the city’s decision to enact the sanctuary laws is protected by the 10th Amendment.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to address what he called “vagrancy” on the streets of the U.S., making it easier to forcibly hospitalize homeless people with mental illness and addiction for longer periods of time.
AP reported civil rights lawyers are seeking a temporary restraining order for ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ claiming detainees are being held without any charges, and have been barred from legal access.
AP reported two prominent Democrats, Govs. Tim Walz and Laura Kelly, the current chair of the Democratic Governors Association, are leaving the National Governors Association, citing a lack of pushback to Trump’s policies which have threatened states’ funding and operations.
Reuters reported that a top official at the U.S. embassy in South Africa reached out to the regime to ask if non-whites qualify for Trump’s refugee program, and was told that it was only intended for white people.
Artist Amy Sherald withdrew her upcoming solo show from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, after the museum told her they were considering removing her painting depicting a transgender Statue of Liberty, out of concern of upsetting Trump.
Reuters reported that after Trump and Republicans ended subsidies for solar and wind power under Trump’s tax legislation, manufacturers and analysts expect a sharp decline in installations of renewable energy in the coming decades, including a loss of investments and jobs.
The Comedy Central show “South Park,” whose season 27 opening was delayed because of Paramount’s merger with Skydance, opened with a segment mocking Trump over the Epstein files and the Paramount lawsuit, and included jokes about Trump’s genitalia.
Comedian Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” also criticized the abrupt cancellation of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on his show, saying Paramount had “lost the benefit of the doubt” about the motivations, calling it “fear and pre-compliance.”
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission approved the Paramount-Skydance merger in a 2–1 vote. Democrat Anna Gomez accused Paramount of “cowardly capitulation,” and said the FCC was imposing “never-before-seen controls over newsroom decisions.”
Gomez also accused the Trump regime of undertaking an “assault on the First Amendment” and warned, “It is time for companies, journalists, and citizens alike to stand up and speak out, because unchecked and unquestioned power has no rightful place in America.”
As part of the deal, Skydance, which is owned by Trump ally Larry Ellison’s son David, pledged that it would appoint an ombudsman to evaluate complaints of editorial bias or other concerns about CBS, and that it would not establish any DEI initiatives.
“The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert had called Paramount’s settlement “a big fat bribe,” days before his show was canceled.
The Federal Trade Commission, in its approval of the merger between Omnicom and IPG, previously the third- and fourth-largest media buying ad agencies and now the world’s largest, made the unprecedented requirement that the merged company cannot refuse to place ads on websites for political reasons.
WAPO’s fact checker, Glenn Kessler, announced he would take a buyout after 27 years, and more than 3,000 fact checks. Kessler added, “I didn’t want the Post to have a gap in fact-checking coverage during this fraught period in U.S. history. But we couldn’t work out an agreement.”
On Friday, speaking to reporters before leaving for Scotland, Trump repeated the false claim that Obama had “done criminal acts. There is no doubt about it.” When asked about the Supreme Court ruling that gave him immunity as president, Trump said “it probably helped him.”
Trump also told reporters that they should focus on other people connected to Epstein, saying, “I’ll give you a list,” and “These guys lived with Jeffrey Epstein.” Notably both Bondi and Trump now claim publicly that there is no Epstein list.
Trump had hoped the trip to Scotland would allow him to change the subject and distance himself from the Epstein story, but the topic continued to dominate. United Kingdom press also noted Scotland’s Earl of Inverness is Prince Andrew, who is also tainted by Epstein ties.
AP reported the trip to Scotland blurred politics and Trump’s family business. While on his visit, the family opened a new golf course bearing his name. Trump also used the trip, which included a large entourage, to showcase his Trump-brand golf destinations.
On Friday in Edinburgh and on Saturday while golfing at his course in Turnberry, hundreds of protestors showed up, organized by a group called Stop Trump Scotland as a “festival of resistance.” Many signs had insults about Trump’s relationship with Epstein.
Trump was again asked about the Epstein Files, which angered him. He told reporters, “You make it a very big thing over something that’s not a big thing,” and “I’m not focused on conspiracy theories that you are. I mean, I watch you people — it’s so sad.”
He was also asked about Blanche’s interview of Maxwell, and whether he planned to offer her a pardon. Trump was noncommittal, saying, “I don’t know anything about the conversation,” and “A lot of people asking me about pardons … this is no time to be talking about pardons.”
NYT reported that Maxwell’s lawyer said she answered questions about roughly 100 people at the interview with Blanche. Maxwell made it clear that she wants her 20-year sentence thrown out or reduced, or to receive a pardon.
Some conservative news outlets friendly to Trump, which previously described Maxwell as a child sex predator, have softened their tone, including a host on Newsmax questioning whether she had been given a fair legal hearing.
Later Saturday, Trump tried to change the subject again, posting on Truth Social that singer Beyoncé should be prosecuted, baselessly claiming she broke the law by getting paid $11 million for her endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
On Sunday, Trump met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his Turnberry golf course. He went on a long diatribe about windmills, claiming, “And the other thing I say to Europe, we will not allow a windmill to be built in the United States, they’re killing us.”
After the two announced a deal “framework” but said “details will have to be sorted out” in the coming weeks, a reporter asked if part of the rush to get the deal done was to knock the Epstein story out of the headlines. Trump fumed, “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me with that.”
WAPO reported that Trump is furious as the Epstein scandal continued to dominate the headlines, and overshadowed his agenda, after weeks of missteps and the regime having no real strategy. Providing additional information to his base has only made them want more.
On Monday, Trump hosted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his Turnberry golf course. In his meeting, he promoted his property, saying among other things, “If you take a look at the windows in the various dining rooms, they’re magnificent.”
Trump again complained about windmills, which are used throughout the U.S., saying, “It destroys the beauty of your fields, your plains, and your waterways, and look out there — there’s no windmills. But if you look in another direction, you see windmills.”
When asked if he would pardon Maxwell, Trump said, “I’m allowed to give her a pardon,” adding, “but I — nobody’s asked me about it. Right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it.”
Trump also claimed that he has not been “overly interested” in the Epstein files, and in regard to his name being in the files, called the “whole thing a hoax.”
Trump also told reporters that he had “never had the privilege” of visiting Epstein’s private Caribbean island because he turned it down, while also baselessly attacking Democrats, saying, “I never went to the island, and Bill Clinton went there supposedly” a number of times.
On Monday, Maxwell’s attorney asked the Supreme Court to take up her pending appeal and overturn her conviction, claiming she was shielded from prosecution by an agreement Epstein made with federal authorities. Her talks with Blanche were not mentioned in the filing.
Her lawyer added in a statement, “We are appealing not only to the Supreme Court but to the president himself to recognize how profoundly unjust it is to scapegoat” Maxwell for Epstein’s crimes, adding the “government promised she would not be prosecuted.”
On Monday, in an escalation, Trump’s attorneys asked the court to make Rupert Murdoch give a deposition in Trump’s WSJ lawsuit over the Epstein story within 15 days, citing Murdoch’s age (94 year-old) and physical condition.
On Tuesday, a poll by the Post found just 16% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files. 86% support releasing all the Epstein files, with 67% feeling strongly and 19% somewhat support doing so, including 90% of Democrats, and 82% who identify at MAGA.
On Tuesday, Trump cut the ribbon for Trump International Links Aberdeen, his new golf course in Scotland, with his sons Donald Jr. and Eric by his side. Trump praised reporters watching, saying, “They’re not fake news today. They’re wonderful news.”
On Tuesday, Trump claimed his relationship frayed over his “stolen” worker, Virginia Giuffre, a known victim of Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring, who died by suicide this year. In that same year, Trump praised Epstein as a “terrific guy” in an interview with New York magazine.
On Tuesday, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency planned to rescind the 2009 landmark declaration, known as the endangerment finding, which allows the agency to regulate greenhouse emissions from cars, truck, and power plants.
The regime’s rollback, which would essentially eliminate climate regulations, argues that Congress does not give the agency the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and seeks to to revise the agency’s own past interpretation of the Clean Air Act.
Reuters reported, the day after a deadly shooting in NYC, that the Trump regime has slashed federal funding for gun violence prevention by more than half, cutting grants by $158 million that had been directed to groups in cities like NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C.
Steve Ricchetti, a former counselor to president Joseph Biden, agreed to testify voluntarily before the Republican-led House committee probing Biden’s mental fitness while in office. Former Chief of Staff Ron Klain cooperated with the committee as well last week.
A CBS/YouGov poll found Trump’s approval with voters ages 18–29 had dropped from 55% when he was inaugurated, to 28% now. In that age group, which helped him win in 2024, 72% disapprove of his performance.

“Satan” and Trump depicted in the “South Park” season 27 premiere. Comedy Central.