Good afternoon, everyone. I just sat down with Vice President Kamala Harris for an exclusive, in-depth conversation following Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. We spoke candidly and without filters about her reaction to the speech, the key policy claims made from the podium, what she believes the American people should be paying attention to, and whether she would have done anything differently in 2024 to ensure she was the one delivering that address last night.
This is a direct, unvarnished discussion you will not hear anywhere else, and you are getting it first.
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Additionally, there are several significant developments this afternoon spanning higher education, the Department of Justice, and ongoing fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein investigations.
Larry Summers to Resign from Harvard Roles
According to The Harvard Crimson, former Harvard President Larry Summers will step down from his academic and faculty appointments at Harvard University at the end of the academic year. A university spokesperson confirmed that Summers will relinquish his University Professorship, which is Harvard’s highest faculty distinction, and will remain on leave until his departure becomes official.
Summers has also resigned from his position as co-director of the Mossavar Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School, a role he has held since 2011. He will not teach classes or take on new advisees before his exit.
His resignation marks the end of a decades long relationship with the institution where he previously served as president and maintained one of the university’s most prestigious academic titles.
DOJ Directed Reviewers to Flag FBI Memos in Epstein File Release
MS Now reports that the Department of Justice instructed internal reviewers to flag FBI interview memoranda prior to producing the most recent tranche of Epstein related files. This follows earlier reporting from MS Now indicating that the DOJ appears to have withheld memoranda documenting three interviews with a woman who accused both Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump of sexual assault. Here is a link to the memo sent internally to the Justice Department attorneys.
The directive to flag specific interview materials raises new questions about the completeness and transparency of the document release, particularly as public scrutiny intensifies around what was included and what may have been excluded.
Epstein Survivor’s Name Reuploaded Before State of the Union
In a separate and deeply troubling development, I spoke this morning with a Jane Doe Epstein survivor who confirmed that shortly before the President’s State of the Union address, the Department of Justice reuploaded documents that publicly exposed her name.
Her name was listed more than a dozen times, according to the survivor, in what she described as a major violation of the law designed to protect victims of sexual abuse. She characterized the disclosure as intimidation. The timing of the release has raised serious concerns among advocates and lawmakers about the handling of sensitive victim information.
House Oversight Democrats Launch Investigation
House Oversight Democrats have now opened an investigation into whether the Trump Justice Department intentionally withheld materials from the Epstein files that included sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump.
The investigation will focus on whether politically sensitive documents were excluded from the public release and whether internal processes were manipulated to shield specific individuals. The documents withheld by the Justice Department are highlighted in yellow:
Nobel Laureate Richard Axel Resigns at Columbia
At the same time, Richard Axel, a Nobel Prize winning scientist and professor at Columbia University, announced that he is resigning as co-director of a flagship neuroscience institute at the university. Axel cited his past friendship with Jeffrey Epstein as the reason for his decision.
His resignation adds to a growing list of prominent figures in academia and public life who are confronting renewed scrutiny over past associations with Epstein.