‘American democracy is still working’: Khanna responds to federal judge order to release Epstein grand jury documents
Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who was co-sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, told CNN today that the federal judge’s order to unseal grand jury records from the 2019 federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein shows that “American democracy still is working”.
“You’ve now had three judges who, in the past, had said you could not release either grand jury testimony or protective orders now ruling that they have to be in compliance with Congress,” Khanna said. “And these files are going to come out, and it does give me hope that we’re going to see broad transparency.”
Key events
DHS signs contract to purchase fleet of Boeing 737s for deportations – report
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has signed a $140m contract to buy a fleet of six Boeing 737 planes to carry out deportations, according to a report by the Washington Post.
The Post cites two officials familiar with the contract and records reviewed by the outlet, who note that the funding for the commercial aircraft is coming from the $170bn injection that DHS received after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law.
Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, said in a statement in response to the Post that the planes would save money “by allowing ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns”.
According to the Post, the DHS contract is with Daedalus Aviation, which was established in February 2024, according to corporate records. Daedalus Aviation’s website states that it “offers a full range of commercial and charter aviation services” and “provides comprehensive responsive flight operations tailored to the unique needs of each mission.”
Judge blocks Trump administration’s deployment of national guard troops in Los Angeles
Joanna Walters
A federal judge on Wednesday morning blocked the deployment by the federal government of national guard troops in Los Angeles and ordered the guard returned to the control of the California governor, a court filing showed.
The Trump administration is being challenged in federal court over its authority and rationale for continuing to maintain command over the national guard troops it deployed to the city earlier this year.
In a historically rare move, the Trump administration federalized California’s national guard in June, dispatching about 4,000 troops in response to protests in the city over immigration raids, despite opposition from the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.
Federal judge grants justice department request to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury documents
A federal judge in New York has granted the justice department’s request to unseal grand jury documents of the 2019 federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
In his decision, judge Richard M Berman cited the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the DoJ to release all records related to the late sex-offender in a searchable format by 19 December. Berman granted the motion with the “unequivocal right of Epstein victims to have their identity and privacy protected”.
A reminder that on Tuesday, another New York judge ordered the release of records from Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 sex trafficking case. Epstein’s accomplice and co-conspirator is currently serving a 20-year sentence at a minimum security prison in Texas.
‘RFK Jr has got to go’: House Democrat introduces articles of impeachment against health secretary
Representative Haley Stevens, a Democrat from Michigan who is also running for Senate, announced today that she has filed articles impeachment against Robert F Kennedy Jr, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary.
Stevens said that Kennedy has “turned his back on science and public health and on the American people”. In a video posted to social media a short while ago, she added that “families are less safe” since he started leading HHS.
“I cannot and I will not stand by while one man dismantles decades of medical progress,” Stevens said. “Enough is enough, and that is why I’m pushing to impeach RFK Jr, to hold him accountable and to protect the health, safety and future of every Michigander.”
Her cause will be hard fought, as it’s extremely unlikely to clear the GOP-controlled House and Senate.
Sam Levin
Throughout his speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Trump made a series of false and baseless claims, particularly on the state of the economy.
Notably, the president, once again, claimed that “prices are way down”. In fact, prices have increased during Trump’s second term. The consumer price index shows that average prices were 1.7% higher in September than they were in January, as CNN outlined in a recent fact-check. There was a 0.3% increase in consumer prices in September, largely due to a 4.1% surge in gasoline prices. Prices were 3% higher in September this year compared with September 2024.
He also claimed, without evidence, that the cost of Thanksgiving turkeys was down by 33% compared with the Biden era. It’s difficult to assess changes in Thanksgiving costs: the American Farm Bureau Federation, a lobbying group, claimed that the price per pound of frozen turkey was down 16% this year, but that wholesale prices for fresh turkey were increasing significantly. In a report on Thanksgiving prices, the Los Angeles Times, citing a market research company that surveys weekly prices at stores, said the cost of a basket of 11 staples of the holiday meal cost 4.1% more than last year.
Read more of Sam’s factchecks and key takeaways here.
My colleague, David Smith, notes that Trump’s speech on Tuesday was the latest instance of the president repeating a racist rant against congresswoman Ilhan Omar and countries he’s previously denigrated.
“Ilhan Omar, whatever the hell her name is. With her little turban. I love her. She comes in, does nothing but bitch. She’s always complaining,” Trump said. “We ought to get her the hell out! She married her brother … Therefore she’s here illegally.”
As David notes, Omar fled civil war as a young child, came to the US as a refugee and became a US citizen in 2000. There is no evidence to support the claim that she married her brother, which she has long described as “absolutely false and ridiculous”.
Later, Trump appeared to confirm a story from his first term – previously denied – that he referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries”.
“We had a meeting and I said, ‘Why is it we only take people from shithole countries, right?’,” Trump said, recalling a meeting with senators. “‘Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few. Let us have a few. From Denmark … send us some nice people. Do you mind? But we always take people from Somalia, places that are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime. The only thing they’re good at is going after ships.”
Read more of David’s recap of Trump’s speech below.
Majority of Americans blame Trump administration for high prices, poll shows
Welcome to US politics live. I’m Shrai Popat and I’ll be bringing you the latest from Washington and beyond.
We start today with a new poll from Politico that shows two particularly important statistics. Almost half of Americans find their monthly bills (from groceries, to healthcare, to utilities) difficult to afford. While 55% of Americans blame the Trump administration for high prices at the grocery store.
This data comes after Donald Trump held the first rally-style event in a tour to tout his self-proclaimed success in bringing down the cost of living since he returned to office.
In a winding, 90-minute speech in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, the president called affordability a “hoax” (a stance he’s repeated in recent weeks) and bashed Democrats and his predecessor, Joe Biden, for high prices. “We’re bringing them down,” he insisted on Tuesday evening.
Trump also claimed he was “crushing” inflation, and “inflation is stopped”. While inflation declined from an annual rate of 3% in January to 2.9% in August, it has remained ahead of the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Politico’s poll also had more telling numbers about specific instances where Americans are having to forego vital services. 27 % of respondents said they have skipped a medical check-up because of costs within the last two years, and 23 % said they have skipped a prescription dose for the same reason.
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