The Latest: Trump signs bill to release the Epstein files after months of political pressure

President Donald Trump signed a bill Wednesday to compel the Justice Department to make public its case files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a potentially far-reaching development in a yearslong push by survivors of Epstein’s abuse for a public reckoning.

The president’s signing sets a 30-day countdown for the Justice Department to produce what’s commonly known as the Epstein files. Those include everything the Justice Department has collected over multiple federal investigations into Epstein, as well as his longtime confidante and girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for luring teenage girls for the disgraced financier. Those records total around 100,000 pages, according to a federal judge who has reviewed the case.

It will also compel the Justice Department to produce all its internal communications on Epstein and his associates and his 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell as he awaited charges for sexually abusing and trafficking dozens of teenage girls.

The legislation, however, exempts some parts of the case files. The bill’s authors made sure to include that the Justice Department could withhold personally identifiable information of victims, child sexual abuse materials and information deemed by the administration to be classified for national defense or foreign policy.

Here's the latest:

Trump administration makes major changes to a report it commissioned on FEMA reforms, AP sources say

A draft of a much-anticipated report on reforms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been whittled down in size, with recommendations compiled by a council appointed by the president slashed and amended by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s office, according to three people familiar with the developments.

The three people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue with the media, said the report shrunk from over 160 pages to roughly 20. They said it left council members and other emergency management leaders concerned that some of the recommendations about the country’s disaster preparedness won’t make it into the final copy, which is expected around Dec. 12.

The draft report’s downsizing reflects the Trump administration’s push to disengage the federal government from disaster management and the agency overseeing it, FEMA, pushing more responsibility on states, tribes and territories.

▶ Read more about the FEMA report and the Trump administration

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— By Gabriela Aoun Angueira

Trump signs bill to release Jeffrey Epstein case files

Trump signed legislation Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts.

Trump could have chosen to release many of the files on his own months ago.

“Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories,” Trump said in a social media post as he announced he had signed the bill.

Now, the bill requires the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in a federal prison in 2019, within 30 days. It allows for redactions about Epstein’s victims for ongoing federal investigations, but DOJ cannot withhold information due to “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”

Larry Summers takes leave from teaching at Harvard after release of Epstein emails

The former U.S. treasurer abruptly went on leave Wednesday from teaching at Harvard University, where he once served as president, over recently released emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Summers’ spokesperson said.

Summers had been retreating from his public commitments amid the fallout of the emails revelation, but he had maintained that he would continue teaching economics classes at Harvard.

Harvard had just reopened an investigation into connections between Summers and Epstein

The school did not mention Summers by name, but the decision to restart the probe follows the release of emails showing that he was friendly with Epstein long after the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl in 2008.

Florida representative indicted on charges of stealing millions in disaster funds

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida has been indicted on charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and using some of the money to aid her 2021 campaign, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

The Democrat is accused of stealing Federal Emergency Management Agency overpayments that her family health care company had received through a federally funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, federal prosecutors said. A portion of the money was then funneled to support her campaign through candidate contributions, prosecutors allege.

“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain.”

A phone message left at Cherfilus-McCormick’s Washington office was not immediately returned.

5 accused of supporting antifa plead guilty to terrorism-related offense after Texas shooting

The charges brought by the Justice Department followed Trump signing an order that designated the decentralized movement known as antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. Trump has blamed antifa for political violence.

FBI Director Kash Patel has previously said the charges in Texas are the first time a material support to terrorism charge has targeted antifa. A police officer was injured in the July 4 shooting near Dallas outside the Prairieland Detention Center, where federal prosecutors say an antifa cell carried out an attack that included gunfire and fireworks aimed toward the immigration detention center.

Antifa, short for “anti-fascists,” is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for left-leaning militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

Top Army officials are in Ukraine to help with peace talks

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is accompanied by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, the service’s most senior officer; Gen. Chris Donahue, U.S. Army Europe and Africa commanding general; and Sgt. Maj. Michael Weimer, the Army’s top enlisted official, an Army official confirmed Wednesday.

A U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, said Driscoll had been planning a trip to Ukraine for some time to discuss the country’s drone warfare innovations and tactics but that last week President Trump decided to identify him as a kind of “special representative” to kickstart peace negotiations and execute a fact-finding mission.

The U.S. official confirmed that Driscoll is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week as well as top Ukrainian government, military and defense industry officials.

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported the visit.