Good evening. It was an intense and consequential day on Capitol Hill, meeting with survivors, covering the explosive Bondi hearing, and pursuing multiple developing investigations.
Below, you’ll find several exclusive scoops, including new information from sources about key redactions in the Epstein files currently circulating online. I also spoke this afternoon with Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, who confirmed that the DOJ is now tracking Democratic lawmakers and their searches of the Epstein files.
And remember the sudden airspace closure over El Paso? Sources say it was triggered by a party balloon, not cartel activity, as some initially suggested.
It was a long day, but the work does not stop. The reporting continues tomorrow, and the next developments will be significant. If you are able, please consider subscribing or gifting a subscription to support this independent reporting. There is much more to come.
Here’s the news:
- Attorney General Pam Bondi faced a combative five-hour congressional hearing over the Justice Department’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein–related files, defending the department and President Trump while deflecting accusations of a cover-up and criticism over redaction failures that exposed sensitive victim information. Following the hearing, even some of the staunchest supporters of the President’s online came out against Bondi refusing to acknowledge the survivors of Esptein’s horrific crimes:
- During the hearing, aides seated behind AG Bondi repeatedly consulted large white binders and passed her notes—at one point directing her to specific pages—particularly when Rep. Jayapal questioned her about redaction failures, prompting critics to focus on the materials, which some described as a “burn book.” Congressman Subramanyam confirmed to me that his searches were tracked as well. H/T Kent Nishimura, Reuters.
- Sources tell me this evening that the following email is written from “Melaniakmelania” to “Gmax 1.” This appears to confirm that Melania Trump wrote this email to Ghislaine Maxwell as both emails were associated with the respective parties. Full email here.
- New file shows Dr. Oz appearing to invite Jeffrey Epstein to a Valentine's Celebration in 2016.
- The LA28 executive committee announced that Casey Wasserman will remain chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics despite scrutiny over past emails with Ghislaine Maxwell and a 2003 flight on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane, saying an external review found no wrongdoing, even as some high-profile clients cut ties and called for his resignation.
- U.K. police are consulting criminal prosecutors as they assess allegations that Andrew shared confidential trade documents with Jeffrey Epstein, following the Justice Department’s release of new Epstein files, amid renewed scrutiny of the former royal, who denies wrongdoing and previously settled a civil lawsuit related to Epstein’s abuse network.
- According to CBS News, the sudden closure of airspace over El Paso followed internal disputes over Pentagon drone-defense tests near Fort Bliss, where military planners had prepared to deploy high-energy laser technology and earlier in the week used it to shoot down objects initially believed to be foreign drones—later identified as including at least one party balloon—after which FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, citing safety concerns and unresolved issues with the Defense Department, ordered the airspace shut down without first informing the White House, Pentagon or Department of Homeland Security.
- A declaration filed in a case involving the Whipple detention center in Minnesota alleges that there was a stack of new car seats in the facility. Eyewitnesses have seen no children there. Sources tell me there are concerns, ICE/CBP is separating children from parents, holding children at a nearby hotel.
- Newly released evidence shows former Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino congratulated agent Charles Exum after he shot Chicago woman Marimar Martinez five times during an immigration crackdown, despite video later undermining claims she tried to ram agents and leading to the dismissal of felony charges against her.
- According to Bloomberg, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro assigned a former dance photographer and longtime associate, Steven Vandervelden, along with another relatively inexperienced hire, to present charges to a grand jury against six Democratic lawmakers over a video about service members’ rights, but the grand jury declined to indict—an unusual move that drew criticism from former prosecutors who questioned the politicization of the case and the sidelining of the office’s public corruption unit.
- According to NBC News, Anthropic announced it will cover consumer electricity price increases tied to its expanding data centers, invest in new power generation and grid upgrades, and limit energy use during peak demand, pledging that AI infrastructure costs should not be passed on to everyday ratepayers amid growing political scrutiny.
- According to The Guardian, Seamus Culleton, an Irish national who has lived in Massachusetts since 2009, was arrested by ICE in September despite having a valid work permit through a pending green card application based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen, and has since been held in multiple detention centers under what he and his lawyer describe as volatile and “dire” conditions, prompting his wife and legal team to seek his immediate release so he can complete his lawful permanent residency process while arguing he poses no criminal or flight risk.
- Sens. Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal introduced the bipartisan “GRID Act,” aimed at preventing data center energy use from raising consumers’ utility bills by requiring operators to cover their own power costs, prioritize everyday users’ grid access, disclose energy usage and rely on off-grid sources, amid growing political scrutiny over AI-driven electricity demand.
- The search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of Savannah Guthrie, has intensified amid signs of a possible abduction from her Arizona home, including disconnected security cameras, blood matching her DNA, masked surveillance footage, and unverified ransom notes, as federal and local authorities pursue leads and her family pleads for her safe return.
- Canadian police identified 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar as the suspect in a Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, school shooting that left nine people dead, including a teacher and five students, before the shooter died by self-inflicted gunshot, in one of the deadliest school attacks in Canada’s history.
- James Van Der Beek, best known for starring in Dawson’s Creek, has died at 48 after battling bowel cancer, leaving behind his wife and six children as tributes poured in from former co-stars and fellow actors.
See you in the morning.
— Aaron
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