The Big Fix Is In

As step one of the Big Fix, please note House Moves Up Summer Break to Avoid Epstein Vote.

Epstein case: Speaker Mike Johnson said he would shut the House down early for the summer on Wednesday to head off Democrats' calls for votes for greater transparency into the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, the sex offender and former friend of President Trump. The early break was announced as several Republicans on the House Oversight Committee joined Democrats in a motion to subpoena Mr. Epstein's longtime partner, Ghislaine Maxwell. Read more ›

Ghislaine Maxwell: The Justice Department is seeking to interview Ms. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, but it is not clear how, or when, the department would release any information from it. The highly unusual overture, announced by Mr. Trump's former criminal defense attorney, was the latest effort by the administration to quell a crisis that has fractured the president's base

Two federal judges in Manhattan said in similar court orders on Tuesday that they would try to "expeditiously" resolve motions by Attorney General Pam Bondi seeking to unseal grand jury transcripts from the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

But both judges ordered the government to file legal arguments setting out the "special circumstances" that would justify disclosing the materials, which are shielded by grand jury secrecy.