Bombshell Epstein emails claim Trump ‘knew’ what was going on and asked Maxwell to ‘stop’: Live updates

The latest tranche of files from House Democrats includes three documents.

• The first is an alleged email exchange between Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell from April 2011.

“I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump.. [Victim] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. Police chief. etc. im 75 % there,” Epstein wrote.

Maxwell replied: “I have been thinking about that…”

• A second document includes January 2019 correspondence from Epstein to author Michael Wolff.

“[Victim] mara lago. [identifier]. Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever. Of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop,” Epstein reportedly wrote.

• A third document is a lengthier correspondence between Wolff to Epstein from December 2015.

“I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you–either on air or in scrum afterwards,” Wolff wrote.

Epstein replied: “if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?”

In response, Wolff wrote:

“I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he’ll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime.”

House lawmakers are finally back in the Capitol to end the government shutdown. A vote on a temporary funding measure is expected to begin Wednesday night.

The first legislative moves to publicly release the so-called Epstein files begin today, with the swearing-in of Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who has waited 50 days to enter office after winning election in Arizona.

After House Speaker Mike Johnson swears her in, Grijalva is expected to be the 218th and final signature attached to a discharge petition led by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna to force a full House vote to release all files in the Justice Department’s possession.

A vote on that measure is expected within the first week of December.

But its passage is unclear, and its chance of survival in the Senate is even more opaque.

Still, lawmakers want to put their colleagues on record with their vote.

Democratic members of the House Oversiht Committee have released several tranches of documents provided by Epstein’s estate over hte last several months.

In September, lawmakers investigating the convicted sex offender and his ties to a wider network of powerful political figures published messages that show possible contact between the financier and Elon Musk and Steve Bannon, among others.

Roughly six pages from more than 8,500 documents include meeting schedules appearing to show appointments with Bannon and venture capitalist Peter Thiel during Donald Trump’s first term in office.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, called the emails “serious and disturbing.

“Oversight Dems have released serious and disturbing emails today about the Trump and Epstein relationship,” he wrote on X. “An email from Epstein alleges Trump ‘spent hours at my house’ with a victim. We won’t stop until we end this White House cover-up. Release the files, NOW.”

In a statement attached to the committee’s release of the messages, Garcia saod “he more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover.”

“These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President,” he added.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released excerpts of emails sent between Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell that mention Donald Trump.

The emails “raise serious questions about Donald Trump and his knowledge of Epstein’s horrific crimes,” the Democrats wrote in a social media post.

Trump has never been formally accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein case.

One email that mentions Trump, apparently sent from the late sex offender to author Michael Wolff, reads: “of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop.”

The full context of the email is not immediately clear.

Trump has called Epstein a “creep” and has repeatedly discussed distancing himself from Epstein in the early 2000s.

According to a YouGov poll taken Monday after the Senate passed a funding package to end the longest government shutdown on record, 37 percent of Americans said they approve of the bill.

That’s compared to 29 percent who disapproved and 34 percent who said they were not sure about how they felt.

More than half of Americans said they were personally affected by the shutdown, which has dragged on since October 1. Millions have struggled to access food assistance this month while flight delays and cancellations have plagued U.S. airports.

Of that group, 15 percent said they were affected “a great deal,” 21 percent said they were “somewhat” affected, and 23 percent said they were affected “a little.” Meanwhile, 36 percent said they weren’t impacted at all.

On Monday, the GOP-controlled Senate passed a deal to end the longest-ever shutdown after seven Democrats and one independent joined Republicans to approve a funding package.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was the only Republican “no” vote.

The deal includes reopening the government, reversing federal layoffs, and a vow to hold a vote on extending Affordable Care Act health insurance premiums in December.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer looks like a dead man walking these days — and for good reason.

Even though he voted against the modified continuing resolution to reopen the government after a 41-day shutdown, numerous House Democrats and many Democratic advocates want the 74-year-old Brooklynite to step aside.

Schumer had decided to take a stand on trying to force Republicans to attach an extension of Covid-era enhanced tax credits to the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplace.

Eric Garcia has the story.