The Justice Department (DOJ) asked a federal court on Friday to unseal the grand jury transcripts in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche filed two different, almost identical, motions to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to release the transcripts of the man convicted of sex-trafficking minors…
Minnesota State Sen. Nicole Mitchell (D) was convicted of first-degree burglary on Friday after breaking into her stepmother’s home last year. Mitchell, who is a former meteorologist and lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, was arrested in April 2024, while serving her first term in the Minnesota Senate. Mitchell has not indicated whether she…
A federal judge on Friday dismissed President Trump’s lawsuit against famed Watergate journalist Bob Woodward for publishing audio tapes of interviews he conducted with Trump for a 2020 book. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe’s ruling comes a year and a half after Woodward and his publisher asked the judge to dismiss the suit. Trump’s attorneys…
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Friday bashed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. “Tulsi Gabbard is not competent to be the director of national intelligence,” he told moderator Peter Baker at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. “I believe she is trying to politicize the workforce and work product,…
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, is pushing back on the Trump administration’s decision to allow technology company Nvidia to sell certain artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China once again. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday, the congressman raised concerns about the…
by Renee Dudley ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Microsoft says it has stopped using China-based engineers to support Defense Department cloud computing systems after ProPublica revealed the practice in an investigation this week. “In response to concerns raised earlier this week about US-supervised foreign engineers, Microsoft has made changes to our support for US Government customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DoD Government cloud and related services,” the company’s chief communications officer, Frank Shaw, announced on X Friday afternoon. Microsoft’s announcement came hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said his agency would look into Microsoft’s use of foreign-based engineers to help maintain the highly sensitive cloud systems. “Foreign engineers — from any country, including of course China — should NEVER be allowed to maintain or access DoD systems,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X Friday. In its investigation, ProPublica detailed how Microsoft uses engineers in China to help maintain the Defense Department’s computer systems — with minimal supervision by U.S. personnel — leaving some of the nation’s most sensitive data vulnerable to hacking or spying from its leading cyber adversary. The arrangement, which was critical to Microsoft winning the federal government’s cloud computing business a decade ago, relies on U.S. citizens with security clearances to oversee the work and serve as a barrier against espionage and sabotage. But these workers, known as “digital escorts,” often lack the technical expertise to police the work of foreign engineers with far more advanced skills, ProPublica found. Earlier Friday, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence, cited ProPublica in a letter to Hegseth asking for details about which DOD contractors use Chinese personnel to maintain the department’s information and computing systems. China poses “one of the most aggressive and dangerous threats to the United States, as evidenced by its infiltrations of our critical infrastructure, telecommunications networks and supply chains,” Cotton wrote in the letter, which he posted on X. “DOD must guard against all potential threats within its supply chain, including those from subcontractors.” Since 2011, cloud computing companies like Microsoft that wanted to sell their services to the U.S. government had to establish how they would ensure that personnel working with federal data would have the requisite “access authorizations” and background screenings. Additionally, the Defense Department requires that people handling sensitive data be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. This presented an issue for Microsoft, which relies on a vast global workforce with significant operations in India, China and the European Union. So the tech giant enlisted staffing companies to hire U.S.-based digital escorts, who had security clearances that authorized them to access sensitive information, to take direction from the overseas experts. An engineer might briefly describe the job to be completed — for instance, updating a firewall, installing an update to fix a bug or reviewing logs to troubleshoot a problem. Then, with little review, an escort would copy and paste the engineer’s commands into the federal cloud. “We’re trusting that what they’re doing isn’t malicious, but we really can’t tell,” one escort told ProPublica. In an earlier statement in response to ProPublica’s investigation, Microsoft said that its personnel and contractors operate in a manner “consistent with US Government requirements and processes.” The company’s global workers “have no direct access to customer data or customer systems,” the statement said. Escorts “with the appropriate clearances and training provide direct support. These personnel are provided specific training on protecting sensitive data, preventing harm, and use of the specific commands/controls within the environment.” In addition, Microsoft said it has an internal review process known as “Lockbox” to “make sure the request is deemed safe or has any cause for concern.” Insight Global — a contractor that provides digital escorts to Microsoft — said it “evaluates the technical capabilities of each resource throughout the interview process to ensure they possess the technical skills required” for the job and provides training. Doris Burke contributed research.
National security in Finland is a society-wide effort that goes beyond the military. Under the shadow of Russian aggression, Europe is taking a look.
The Justice Department asked a federal court on Friday to unseal grand jury transcripts in Jeffrey Epstein’s case at the direction of President Donald Trump amid a firestorm over the administration’s handling of records related to the wealthy financier. The move — coming a day after a Wall Street Journal story put a spotlight on Trump’s relationship with Epstein — seeks to contain a growing controversy that has engulfed the administration since it announced that it would not be releasing more government files from Epstein’s sex trafficking case. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche filed motions urging the court to unseal the Epstein transcripts as well as those in the case against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Epstein killed himself in 2019 shortly after his arrest while awaiting trial. Todd Blanche The Justice Department’s announcement that it would not be making public any more Epstein files enraged parts of Trump’s base in part because members of his own administration had hyped the expected release and stoked conspiracies around the well-connected financier. Trump’s demand to release the grand jury transcripts came after The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday on a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump’s name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein’s 50th birthday. The letter bearing Trump’s name includes text framed by the outline of what appears to be a hand-drawn naked woman and ends with, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” according to the newspaper. The outlet described the contents of the letter but did not publish a photo showing it entirely. Trump denied writing the letter, calling it “false, malicious, and defamatory” and promised to sue. Trump said he spoke to both to the paper’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, and its top editor, Emma Tucker, and told them the letter was “fake.” “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures,” the president wrote on social media. Related | Trump melts down after lewd letter to Jeffrey Epstein is made public The Justice Department said in the court filings that it will work with with prosecutors in New York to make appropriate redactions of victim-related information and other personally identifying information before transcripts are released. “Transparency in this process will not be at the expense of our obligation under the law to protect victims,” Blanche wrote. But despite the new push to release the grand jury transcripts, the administration has not announced plans to reverse course and release other evidence in its possession. Attorney General Pam Bondi had hyped the release of more materials after the first Epstein files disclosure in February sparked outrage because it contained no new revelations. A judge would have to approve the release of the grand jury transcripts, and it’s likely to be a lengthy process to decide what can become public and to make redactions to protect sensitive witness and victim information. The records would show testimony of witnesses and other evidence that was presented by prosecutions during the secret grand jury proceedings, when a panel decides whether there is enough evidence to bring an indictment, or a formal criminal charge.
Pete Buttigieg, who served as secretary of transportation under former President Joe Biden, made a surprise appearance Friday on “Pardon My Take,” a popular sports podcast. The guest spot comes as Democrats try to make inroads with young male voters, the core constituency of the so-called manosphere of online content. Buttigieg appeared to announce that internet personality Jersey Jerry had won the podcast’s “Lib of the Year” award. As Jersey Jerry looked on, wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat featuring President Donald Trump’s signature, Buttigieg congratulated him on his “evolving perspective on immigration” and “being open to the idea that vaccines actually work.” Pete Buttigieg did a cameo on the Barstool podcast Pardon My Take presenting a Lib of the Year award lmao pic.twitter.com/u7jd3qsFYL — chyea ok (@chyeaok) July 18, 2025 “Pardon My Take” is one of the most listened to and watched sports podcasts. Buttigieg’s appearance on the program is even more notable since “Pardon My Take” is a part of Barstool Sports, which is led by outspoken conservative Dave Portnoy. Democrats have been fumbling for the past year to find a way to reach out to male voters, 55% of whom voted for Trump in last year’s presidential election, according to exit polls. Online podcasts and streams like “Pardon My Take” have been seen as a main pathway to reaching this demographic. During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump made multiple appearances on programs in the “manosphere,” while the campaign of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was more reluctant about reaching out to similar programming. Recently, liberal donors have also been strategizing on how to bankroll progressive content that appeals to men. Buttigieg, who also served as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, from 2012 to 2020, has been discussed as a likely candidate in the 2028 Democratic presidential primaries. By appearing on the podcast and reaching an audience that may be unaware of him or even hostile to Democrats, Buttigieg could be signaling plans to reach beyond the party’s traditional supporters if he decides to run.
The Trump administration is doing an outstanding job of obliterating every last shred of affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. But they can’t do it alone. Enter America First, the legal group founded by current White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, here to lend a helping hand. So, the group just filed a complaint with the Department of Justice demanding an “immediate investigation and enforcement action” into Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. You can pretty much guess what the letter says, because it’s just the same ghoulish racist rhetoric that Miller has been engaging in since he was a teenager. Per America First, Johns Hopkins is discriminating on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, and “other impermissible immutable characteristics.” “Trump’s New Whip” by Tim Campbell. The complaint pretends that the real concern of the professional racists over at America First is the safety of Americans. Yes, they are just looking out for you, because if medical schools admit anyone but white dudes, basically, they are going to become subpar physicians, and that “endangers public trust in the medical system itself.” But the eroding of public trust is already happening. The administration is currently letting Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. trash public health efforts, instead pushing his anti-vaccine quackery. Cuts at the National Institutes of Health are endangering cancer research, because everyone knows that fighting cancer is woke, or something. Normally, it wouldn’t be logical or fair to attribute those actions of the administration to a private legal group like America First. But America First is nothing but an extension of Miller’s work in the administration. So the private law firm founded by Miller can tee up complaints so that the administration can “investigate” those complaints. Indeed, the group’s complaint is essentially the same as the administration’s announcement back in March—that it was investigating Johns Hopkins over DEI. Procedurally, it’s glaringly obvious that the complaint was filed as a fig leaf to give the DOJ another tool to attack Johns Hopkins. The administration has been targeting the school for months, sending the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism to Johns Hopkins and nine other schools. America First could have filed a lawsuit against Johns Hopkins and made the same demands, but then they wouldn’t have had the option to tee up a sweetheart settlement of their complaint, allowing the DOJ to run roughshod over Johns Hopkins. America First would also have needed a plaintiff to file a lawsuit, but they don’t need one to file a complaint. That’s not just cynical speculation. It’s basically what the administration already did by filing a sham lawsuit against the state of Texas over its law granting in-state tuition to undocumented students. The state settled with the DOJ the same day the suit was filed, with Texas declaring its own law unconstitutional. Related | Texas throws immigrants under the bus as it caves to DOJ It isn’t clear if America First quite intended to say the quiet part out loud, but their racist screed takes a step that was inevitable, but is still disgusting. The argument is that if Johns Hopkins considers socioeconomic status in admissions, that’s actually still affirmative action because “wealth and income gaps vary significantly between racial groups, with Black and Hispanic households possessing a fraction of the wealth held by White and Asian households. By leveraging these disparities, Johns Hopkins masks racial preferences behind income thresholds.” Yes, that’s an argument Johns Hopkins is doing forbidden DEI by admitting students with lower incomes, because the poors are all Black or Hispanic. To grant America First’s demands here, Johns Hopkins would have to stop admitting students from lower-income families. Well, unless they’re white, of course. This is in keeping with the overall thrust of the Trump administration to make it harder for anyone except rich white people to obtain advanced degrees. The “One Big, Beautiful Bill” capped student loans at an amount that makes it impossible for a lower- or average-income student to go to medical school. Johns Hopkins, for example, costs about $72,000 per year, or $288,000 total, but graduate student loans are capped at $100,000 total. The administration is also functionally killing Public Service Loan Forgiveness, so anyone who chooses a lower-paying public service job will be absolutely hobbled by their loans forever. Just like the administration, America First pretends that if you simply eradicate all efforts to attract anyone except white, straight, moneyed men, then you will get people chosen on pure merit. Except in this administration, “merit” means people like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, objectively unqualified people who got their jobs because Trump watches a lot of Fox News. A medical school filled with dudes like that is the real danger.
