Deputy attorney general planning to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell ‘in coming days’
As the Republican party remains in a state of flux over the Jeffrey Epstein debacle and the Trump administration continues to desperately try to claw back the narrative on the issue, the justice department has asked Epstein associate Ghislane Maxwell if she would be willing to speak with US prosecutors. Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said that he intends to meet with Maxswell “in the coming days” with the aim of finding out if she has any “information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims”.
He wrote on X:
Justice demands courage. For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask: what do you know? At @AGPamBondi ’s direction, I’ve contacted her counsel. I intend to meet with her soon. No one is above the law—and no lead is off-limits.
In a statement posted on X before that, Blanche said:
This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead. The joint statement by the DOJ and FBI of July 6 remains as accurate today as it was when it was written. Namely, that in the recent thorough review of the files maintained by the FBI in the Epstein case, no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.
President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell [sic] has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.
Therefore, at the direction of Attorney General Bondi, I have communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department. I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days. Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. That changes now.”
Last week Donald Trump instructed attorney general Pam Bondi to begin the process of unsealing grand jury testimony in Epstein’s criminal case.
That followed publication of a Wall Street Journal story alleging that Trump sent Epstein a “bawdy” birthday letter several decades ago, though Trump has claimed the letter is fake and is now seeking billions in a defamation lawsuit against the WSJ.
Key events
Coca-Cola to launch Coke with cane sugar after Trump claims credit
Coca-Cola has laid out plans to launch a product made with US cane sugar this year, days after Donald Trump claimed the company had agreed to replace high-fructose corn syrup.
The announcement came on Tuesday in Coca-Cola’s earnings report. It confirmed a 16 July post on Trump’s Truth Social platform in which the president said Coca-Cola “agreed” to use “REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States”.
“This will be a very good move by them – You’ll see,” Trump’s post said. “It’s just better!”
The drink maker’s Mexican Coke is made with cane sugar and already sold in the US.
However, experts say that making drinks with cane sugar instead of corn syrup doesn’t make it healthier.
Eva Greenthal, senior policy scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, previously told CNN:
Excess consumption of sugar from any source harms health. To make the US food supply healthier, the Trump administration should focus on less sugar, not different sugar.
House speaker Mike Johnson and his GOP leadership colleagues are due to give a press conference at 10am ET. I’ll bring you any key lines here.
US cites ‘anti-Israel rhetoric’ as a reason for quitting Unesco
The US state department claimed one of the reasons for the US’s withdrawal from Unesco was the organization’s decision to admit Palestine as a member state, which was “contrary to US policy and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization” [a charge the Trump administration frequently directs at the United Nations at large].
Israel welcomed the US decision to quit Unesco, Reuters reports.
Unesco officials said all relevant agency statements had been agreed with both the Israelis and the Palestinians over the past eight years.
“The reasons put forward by the United States to withdraw from the Organization are the same as seven years ago even though the situation has changed profoundly, political tensions have receded, and Unesco today constitutes a rare forum for consensus on concrete and action-oriented multilateralism,” Unesco chief Audrey Azoulay said.
“These claims also contradict the reality of Unesco’s efforts, particularly in the field of Holocaust education and the fight against antisemitism.”
Diplomats said it was felt at Unesco that the withdrawal was inevitable for political reasons, given that Joe Biden had brought the US back and had promised to repay arrears from the first time Donald Trump pulled out.
Unesco, whose full name is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is best known for designating World Heritage Sites, including 26 in the United States, such as the Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty.
The United States initially joined Unesco at its founding in 1945 but withdrew for the first time in 1984 in protest against alleged financial mismanagement and perceived anti-US bias, returning in 2003 under George W Bush, who said the agency had undertaken needed reforms.
You can follow our live coverage on Palestine here:
Epstein crisis forces House GOP to scrap votes
House Republicans will scrap several votes this week as the internal party drama over Jeffrey Epstein derails a key committee that handles legislation on its way to the floor, Politico reports.
The House Rules Committee came to a standstill on Monday night as GOP leaders struggled to contain rank-and-file Republicans and their Democratic allies clamoring for a floor vote to compel the publication of materials related to the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
Committee Democrats had planned to force a vote that evening on legislation that would call for the release of the materials, as the panel worked to tee up floor consideration on a slate of unrelated bills.
But rather … work through the Democratic disruption, Republicans chose instead on Monday to recess the rest of the Rules meeting altogether, with House majority leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) saying it was “unlikely” that the panel would reconvene this week at all. Later, lawmakers said there were no plans to return at all.
That means House members will depart for August recess at the week’s end without being able to vote on legislation that would not otherwise be able to pass on the chamber floor with a simple majority vote.
“See you in September,” said Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). McGovern, in a statement, accused Republicans of making their own mess.
“Democrats on the Rules Committee gave Republicans a choice — either vote to release the Epstein Files, or keep them a secret. Republicans are so afraid of taking that vote that they are torching their own agenda instead of doing something they promised the voters they would do,” he said. “Trump and his top allies have been pushing this for years — and people aren’t going to forget about it in a month.”
Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney David Oscar Markus has told CNN:
I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.
Maxwell was convicted of federal sex trafficking charges in 2021, and she is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. She had been accused of procuring teenage girls for Epstein’s sexual abuse.
Trump pulls US out of Unesco for second time
Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the UN culture and education agency Unesco, repeating a move he had already ordered during his first term, which had been reversed under Joe Biden.
The withdrawal from the Paris-based agency, only two years after the US rejoined, will take effect on 31 December 2026.
“President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from Unesco – which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
The state department said remaining in Unesco was not in the national interest, accusing it of having “a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy”.
Unesco chief Audrey Azoulay said she deeply regretted Trump’s decision, but that it was “expected, and Unesco has prepared for it”.
The agency had diversified its sources of funding, receiving only about 8% of its budget from Washington, she said.
Unesco was one of several international bodies Trump withdrew from during his first term, along with the World Health Organization, the Paris Agreement global climate change accord and the UN Human Rights Council.
During his second term, he has largely reinstated those steps.
Unesco officials said the US withdrawal would have some limited impact on programs the United States was financing.
Deputy attorney general planning to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell ‘in coming days’
As the Republican party remains in a state of flux over the Jeffrey Epstein debacle and the Trump administration continues to desperately try to claw back the narrative on the issue, the justice department has asked Epstein associate Ghislane Maxwell if she would be willing to speak with US prosecutors. Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said that he intends to meet with Maxswell “in the coming days” with the aim of finding out if she has any “information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims”.
He wrote on X:
Justice demands courage. For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask: what do you know? At @AGPamBondi ’s direction, I’ve contacted her counsel. I intend to meet with her soon. No one is above the law—and no lead is off-limits.
In a statement posted on X before that, Blanche said:
This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead. The joint statement by the DOJ and FBI of July 6 remains as accurate today as it was when it was written. Namely, that in the recent thorough review of the files maintained by the FBI in the Epstein case, no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.
President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell [sic] has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.
Therefore, at the direction of Attorney General Bondi, I have communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department. I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days. Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. That changes now.”
Last week Donald Trump instructed attorney general Pam Bondi to begin the process of unsealing grand jury testimony in Epstein’s criminal case.
That followed publication of a Wall Street Journal story alleging that Trump sent Epstein a “bawdy” birthday letter several decades ago, though Trump has claimed the letter is fake and is now seeking billions in a defamation lawsuit against the WSJ.
Mike Johnson says there won’t be an Epstein files vote before September
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. Mike Johnson, the House speaker, has pushed back against growing calls for a vote on releasing any files on Jeffrey Epstein – saying he does not plan to allow votes on any measures relating to the convicted sex offender before Congress breaks for the summer.
A number of Trump supporters in Congress have argued for a vote to show transparency and introduced a non-binding resolution calling for the release of additional Epstein files. But Johnson, a key ally of the president, told CNN on Monday there would be no vote before Congress returns in September.
He said:
My belief is we need the administration to have the space to do what it is doing, and if further congressional action is necessary or appropriate, then we’ll look at that, but I don’t think we’re at that point right now, because we agree with the president.”
It remains to be seen whether that effectively tamps down Republican clamor for more information.
Donald Trump, meanwhile, has a bilateral meeting the the president of the Philippines today. The president will greet Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the White House at 11am ET before a meeting set for 11.15am and a lunch at 11.45am.
The two leaders are expected to talk about trade ahead of a fast-approaching tariff deadline on 1 August.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday: “Perhaps this will be a topic of discussion. You will all see for yourselves in the Oval Office, as you always do. But the August 1 deadline is just the start date for when the United States of America will begin collecting this revenue from all of the countries around the world who the president has sent these letters to.”
We’ll bring you all the latest politics news as it happens.
