Donald Trump just wrapped one of the most astonishing press conferences of 2025, publicly embracing Zohran Mamdani in a moment so surreal that Fox News is speculating that Vice President JD Vance is “jealous” of Mamdani’s newfound closeness with Trump. At the same time, Congressman Eugene Vindman is intensifying pressure on the White House to release the transcript of Trump’s call with the Saudi Crown Prince, appearing alongside Jamal Khashoggi’s mother to demand answers. And now, Epstein survivors say they are receiving death threats as they call for the full release of every remaining file.
Donald Trump spent the past hour heaping praise on Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office actively undermining the Republican Party’s plan to run on a campaign featuring Mamdani in 2026. Trump called Mamdani a “rational person” and said that he would feel comfortable living in New York City, pledging to work with the incoming Mayor-elect. I went through the entire meeting here:
Fox News said that JD Vance is “jealous” of Mamdani:
Rep. Eugene Vindman: “I reviewed, during my tenure on Trump’s White House National Security staff…a call between Trump and Mohammed bin Salman after the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi…When a president sidelines his own intelligence community to shield a foreign leader, America’s credibility is at stake. The Khashoggi family and the public deserve to hear the truth…I’m calling on the president to release the transcript of this call.”
Jamal Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi: “I’m seeking the help of Congressmen Vindman and Jamie Raskin, to get the transcript of the conversation between President Trump and Crown Prince MBS to understand the truth.”
The House Oversight Committee abandoned plans to depose Ghislaine Maxwell—who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking—after her lawyers informed the panel she would invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse all questions unless given immunity and advance access to the queries; Chairman James Comer said it would be a waste of taxpayer money to travel to her Texas prison, and noted the committee is still seeking testimony from Bill and Hillary Clinton as part of its broader Epstein inquiry.
This afternoon, I received the following statement from Epstein survivors stating they have received threats and are demanding the full disclosure of all of the files.
The Trump Administration engaged in several illegal actions over the past several days, despite Trump claiming that none of his orders were illegal. I broke it down:
The Guardian reports that Trump’s Justice Department is actively investigating long-discredited claims that Venezuela helped steal the 2020 election, with federal prosecutors and taskforces interviewing conspiracy promoters whose allegations could bolster the administration’s escalating push toward military action against Maduro, despite past court rulings and major defamation settlements affirming the claims are false.
President Trump is urging Ukraine to accept a U.S.-crafted 28-point peace plan by Thanksgiving—pressuring Kyiv amid battlefield setbacks and a corruption scandal—while Zelenskyy warns the proposal risks Ukraine’s “dignity” and its relationship with Washington; the draft plan would require major concessions to Russia, including surrendering Donbas, limiting Ukraine’s military, and abandoning NATO ambitions, prompting alarm among allies even as the White House frames it as a realistic path to ending the war.
A federal judge ordered the release of 16 migrants detained in an FBI-led Idaho racetrack raid, ruling their prolonged, bondless detention violated due process, despite DHS defending the arrests and criticizing the decision; the raid detained hundreds, drew complaints of aggressive tactics toward families, and highlighted broader Trump-era crackdowns and court backlogs in the immigration system.
President Trump insisted he was not threatening death toward Democratic lawmakers after accusing them of “seditious behavior, punishable by death,” but repeated that they are “in serious trouble,” prompting a surge in threats against those members, security interventions, and widespread concern about escalating rhetoric as Democrats defend their video urging military personnel to refuse illegal orders.
A new lawsuit challenges the Trump administration’s revived daily fines of $998 — reaching as high as $1.8 million per person — imposed on over 21,500 immigrants who remained in the U.S. while pursuing legal relief, arguing the multibillion-dollar penalties are unconstitutional and financially devastating, while DHS defends them as lawful consequences for staying in the country illegally.
New data shows that during the 2025 federal government shutdown, ICE continued large-scale raids and deportations—arresting about 54,000 people and deporting 56,000 more—driving immigration detention to a record 65,000 people, with the majority having no criminal record, as the Trump administration ramped up interior enforcement, ordered daily arrest quotas, and deployed additional federal agencies to assist in sweeping operations.
Jonathan Pollard, the former U.S. intelligence analyst who spied for Israel, said his private meeting with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee was simply a personal visit to thank him for past support, downplaying controversy as critics question why a sitting ambassador met with a convicted spy amid broader concerns that Huckabee’s pro-Israel actions increasingly diverge from official White House policy.
