Important Update: Justice Department Says No Court Can Force it to Release the Epstein Files as Cover-Up Grows
By Aaron Parnas•January 17, 2026•5 min read•Trump AdministrationCriminal Justice
Good morning everyone. I have a critical update for you. Overnight—while most of the country slept—the Justice Department formally admitted in federal court that no court can force it to release the Epstein files or compel compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. I reviewed the filing the moment it was submitted and spent the night analyzing it. This is not a routine legal argument—it is a major accountability crisis, and it demands immediate attention.
At the same time, large-scale protests have erupted in Denmark and Greenland in response to escalating geopolitical tensions. I have a source on the ground in Greenland who will be providing exclusive coverage that you won’t see anywhere else—so stay with me.
I am working around the clock to interview key leaders, verify facts, and bring you accurate, real-time reporting as events unfold. People often ask how I’m always online. The answer is simple: I love this work. The team will grow—but I’m proud of what we’re building, and I’m committed to doing this the right way.
Overnight, the U.S. Department of Justice told a federal court that it cannot be forced to release Epstein files or submit to an independent monitor in the closed criminal case of Ghislaine Maxwell, arguing the case is final and courts lack authority to compel new disclosures.
Prosecutors opposed requests from lawmakers Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie to intervene and enforce the Epstein Files Transparency Act, saying the statute creates no individual right, no enforcement mechanism, and gives Congress no standing to litigate compliance.
The DOJ warned that allowing judicial oversight would improperly reopen a concluded case, undermine victim-protection orders, and require courts to invent remedies Congress never authorized, a decision now pending before Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.
Senior congressional Republicans broke with President Trump to oppose his renewed push to take control of Greenland, warning it is absurd, overwhelmingly unpopular with Americans, risks severe damage to US–Nato alliances, and could permanently harm his presidency, even as Trump continues to frame the move as a national security necessity despite protests from Denmark, Greenland, and European allies.
Protesters in Copenhagen and across Denmark and Greenland rallied against Donald Trump’s plans to take control of Greenland, marching toward the US embassy and demanding respect for Greenland’s self-determination and Danish sovereignty under slogans such as “Hands off Greenland” and “Greenland for Greenlanders.”
Photograph: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images
Federal officers blinded two protesters at a peaceful anti-ICE rally in Santa Ana, California, by firing “less-lethal” munitions at close range into their faces, prompting outrage, eyewitness accounts contradicting DHS claims of violence, and renewed scrutiny of homeland security crowd-control tactics and use-of-force policies.
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for possible obstruction of federal law enforcement amid unrest over ICE operations, a probe both leaders denounce as political intimidation by President Donald Trump’s administration following their public opposition to federal immigration actions in the city.
A federal judge ordered agents involved in the Trump administration’s Minnesota immigration crackdown under Operation Metro Surge to stop pepper spraying, detaining, or retaliating against peaceful protesters, ruling that such actions likely violated constitutional rights and must cease while a lawsuit brought by the ACLU proceeds.
A rapidly escalating measles outbreak in South Carolina has doubled in a week to more than 550 confirmed cases, with hundreds quarantined and infections spreading to at least three other states, as health officials warn low vaccination rates—well below the 95% threshold recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—are driving the largest measles outbreak currently in the U.S.
Since September, NBC has confirmed that officers under Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security have shot 11 people during immigration enforcement operations nationwide—often firing into moving vehicles—prompting alarm from policing experts who warn the shootings reflect a dangerous pattern tied to aggressive deportation tactics, limited transparency, and unclear accountability.
A Florida congressional candidate, Mark Davis, bought the domain nazis.us and redirected it to the Department of Homeland Security to protest what he called the Republican party’s slide into fascism amid Trump-era immigration crackdowns, sparking widespread attention, mixed public reactions, and further scrutiny of ICE and DHS practices.
US mental health and substance abuse providers described “whiplash” and serious risks to vulnerable patients after the Trump administration abruptly cut — then reinstated — funding for thousands of programs, exposing how sudden policy reversals create instability, threaten continuity of care, and erode the safety net for people reliant on life-saving services.
According to the Guardian, Iran is planning a permanent break from the global internet, restricting full access to a small, regime-vetted elite while forcing most citizens onto a tightly monitored national intranet, a move activists warn is designed to suppress dissent after mass protests but would carry severe economic and social costs.
In addition, the Guardian has confirmed that a senior Iranian cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, called for the execution of protesters as Iran’s deadly crackdown continues, defying Trump’s claims that executions had halted, while rights groups report thousands killed or arrested and the regime signals an uncompromising, hardline response to the unrest.
Egypt welcomed President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate its long-running Nile River water dispute with Ethiopia, as tensions have escalated over Ethiopia’s $5bn Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo fears could threaten its water security and regional stability.
