Asking the Questions

Trump Won’t Answer
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Donald Trump really doesn’t want to answer questions about his relationship with sexual abuser and former “closest friend” ([link removed]) Jeffrey Epstein. This week, he even dodged a question about Epstein by speeding away in his golf cart while blasting “Memories,” ([link removed]) from the musical “Cats.”

But Trump can’t avoid more information coming to light about his administration’s handling of the Epstein files, especially as recent reporting suggests that Trump’s name was in the investigative holdings related to Epstein’s criminal case. We recently learned that FBI personnel “were instructed to ‘flag’ ([link removed]) ” any records in which Trump was mentioned. Additionally, hundreds of FBI employees and federal prosecutors were reportedly pulled off other assignments ([link removed]) this spring and asked to work around the clock to conduct multiple rounds of reviews of the files.

In other words, it seems that the administration told a lot of government employees to ignore their real jobs and instead prioritize making sure they caught anything that could potentially embarrass the president. We launched an investigation ([link removed]) this week into this alleged abuse of power, seeking the release of DOJ and FBI records related to the agencies’ review of the Epstein files.
* We want to know exactly what instructions were given to FBI agents reassigned to comb through the records to protect the president’s reputation. We’ve requested the release of training materials provided to agency staff involved in the review, including directives, internal complaints, and guidance for applying redactions, flagging specific content, and maintaining security levels.

“In a functioning democracy, no one — not even the most powerful — should be shielded from public scrutiny,” our Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said. The administration wants us to trust that law enforcement handled the case without bias or special treatment. That’s not good enough.

New Lawsuit Defends Congressional Oversight Powers

Members of Congress have recently been denied entry ([link removed]) to federal detention facilities, and last month ICE released new guidance ([link removed]) requiring members of Congress to provide 72 hours’ notice prior to any facility visit — a brazen attempt to shield abuse from scrutiny. On Wednesday, a dozen Democratic lawmakers, represented by American Oversight ([link removed]) and Democracy Forward, sued the Trump administration over these unlawful restrictions.
* The oversight that these legislators seek to conduct is especially important as the Trump administration is adopting increasingly extreme anti-immigrant measures, from plans to deport immigrants to Guantánamo Bay ([link removed]) to its use of immigration enforcement to punish perceived opponents and protect allies ([link removed]) , and the injection of National Guard troops into detention facilities ([link removed]) .
* Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told members of Congress that he planned to detain immigrants on military bases in Indiana and New Jersey ([link removed]) — an escalation of the administration’s efforts to detain thousands in stateside facilities. The plan raises serious concerns about the use of military assets to advance the president’s political goals, as well as about facility conditions and the sheer number of ICE detainments.
* Trump’s recently-passed budget bill allocates $45 million ([link removed]) to ICE for contracts with detention contractors, tripling federal funding for the mass detention of immigrants. Private prison and detention companies that donated ([link removed]) to Trump’s re-election campaign have already profited, and will likely continue to do so.

We’ve been investigating ([link removed]) the Trump administration’s ​​potential conflicts of interest due to ties with the private prison industry, having filed several records requests for information about any new or expanded immigration enforcement contracts with groups like GEO Group and CoreCivic. We’re also examining the Trump administration’s revival of a WWII-era law ([link removed]) that was used to force Japanese Americans into internment camps as part of its effort to carry out mass deportations.

Trump Lawyer Emil Bove Confirmed to Lifetime Judgeship

The Senate confirmed Emil Bove, President Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer and now a top DOJ official, to a lifetime position on the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals — despite recent ([link removed]) whistleblower complaints ([link removed]) that Bove suggested ([link removed]) defying federal court orders to speed deportations as part of a broader effort to mislead judges and circumvent legal constraints. The public still deserves to know more about Bove’s alleged disregard for the rule of law.
* In February, we filed a disciplinary ([link removed]) complaint ([link removed]) against Bove, asking New York authorities to investigate potential professional misconduct in Bove’s oversight and direction of the corrupt dismissal of criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. We renewed that call in June in light of the new whistleblower allegations.
* Earlier this month, we sued DOJ ([link removed]) for records that could shed light on Bove’s potential misconduct, including his role in defying court orders, politically motivated dismissals of charges, and mass deportations.


** Other Stories We’re Following
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Trump Administration Accountability
* How Trump’s crackdown on law firms is undermining legal defenses for the vulnerable (Reuters ([link removed]) )
* Trump administration halted lawsuits targeting civil rights abuses of prisoners and mentally ill people (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* Trump admin escalates its war with the courts — this time targeting Judge Boasberg (Politico ([link removed]) )
* What will it cost to renovate the ‘free’ Air Force One? Don’t ask. (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Trump’s Scotland trip latest example of blending private business with presidential duties (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Portrait of a young DOGE coder dismantling America’s institutions (Bloomberg ([link removed]) )
* Controversial Interior Department aide from DOGE to leave agency (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Senate confirms Trump’s pick for counterterrorism agency, a former Green Beret with extremist ties (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Trump drove firing of FDA official (Politico ([link removed]) )
* States sue Trump administration over efforts to get food stamp data (New York Times ([link removed]) )

Voting Rights
* Ohio Secretary of State directs election officials to begin next round of voter list audits (WFMJ ([link removed]) )
* State Election Board returns to 2020 election and seeks help from Trump’s DOJ (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )
* Documentation of every vote cast in an election is not public record, Maricopa County judge rules (KJZZ ([link removed]) )

State and National News
* Project 2025 architect Paul Dans to challenge Lindsey Graham for Senate (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Judge calls Barr’s handling of Mueller Report ‘distorted’ and ‘misleading’ (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people not to work (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Trump-aligned members of Georgia’s State Election Board push to hire former leader’s spouse (Georgia Recorder ([link removed]) )
* Union Pacific to buy Norfolk Southern in $85 billion railroad deal (New York Times ([link removed]) )

Immigration
* Convicted criminals make up less than half of ICE arrests under Trump (Stateline ([link removed]) )
* DHS is urging DACA recipients to self-deport (NPR ([link removed]) )
* New documents show how passport and Social Security rules would change to enforce Trump’s birthright citizenship order (CNN ([link removed]) )
* USCIS issues plan to fulfill Trump birthright citizenship order (Bloomberg ([link removed]) )
* Appeals court paves way for class-action status in Maryland birthright case (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Lawyers say Maine border agents held an Ecuadorian man for days without telling family where he was (Maine Public ([link removed]) )
* Venezuelans say they were beaten and sexually assaulted while detained at notorious CECOT (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* Florida has no formal hurricane plan for Alligator Alcatraz (Miami Herald ([link removed]) )
* How a rural Texas sheriff became a poster child for serving Trump’s immigration goals (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )

LGBTQ+ Rights
* Native leaders push back on gender-affirming care restrictions for tribal citizens (19th News ([link removed]) )
* FTC probes trans care claims and risks (Axios ([link removed]) )

Abortion and Reproductive Rights
* Judge blocks Trump administration’s efforts to defund Planned Parenthood (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Trump prepares to revoke lifesaving abortion care for veterans (Intercept ([link removed]) )
* Texas moves to enforce judgment against New York doctor over abortion pills (Reuters ([link removed]) )
* Church gets another chance to challenge WA abortion coverage law (Washington State Standard ([link removed]) )
* ​​One year since abortion law took effect, advocates say Iowans seeking care face new barriers (Iowa Capital Dispatch ([link removed]) )
* Doctors left Idaho after abortion ban, study confirms (Idaho Capital Sun ([link removed]) )

Threats to Education
* Trump administration launches investigation into Duke University and Duke Law Journal (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Harvard is said to be open to spending up to $500 million to resolve Trump dispute (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* DOJ to review staff texts, emails after faculty praise of GMU president (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Sheriff's office launches probe after reports naked women were seen on official's TV at Oklahoma Board of Education meeting (NBC News ([link removed]) )

Government Transparency and Public Records Law
* ACLU sues Pima County sheriff over immigration contact records in traffic stops (AZ Mirror ([link removed]) )
* Senators could vote imminently to remove their homes, travel info from internet (Rolling Stone ([link removed]) )
* Appeals Court rules against Prehn in public records lawsuit (Wisconsin Examiner ([link removed]) )

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