THE SPOTLIGHT is on President Trump’s Justice Department, as separate investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the Intelligence Community’s actions around the 2016 election expand to include some of the biggest names in politics.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed the Department of Justice (DOJ) and a number of high-profile individuals Tuesday, as he seeks further transparency in the Epstein case.

Former President Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller are among those who received subpoenas.

In addition, Comer subpoenaed six former attorneys general spanning administrations: Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder.

“While the Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell’s cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell,” Comer wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Bondi has been under pressure to reveal more details about the case since the DOJ and FBI sought to close the book on the matter after determining Epstein did not keep a “client list.”

Trump has backed Bondi, insisting there is no conspiracy and lashing out at Republicans seeking full transparency.

Trump is also suing The Wall Street Journal, claiming a story they ran about him sending a birthday card to Epstein is false. Attorneys for both parties Tuesday agreed to delay a deposition for Rupert Murdoch.

Meanwhile, the DOJ requested the release of grand jury testimony transcripts in the trials of both Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

In her letter seeking the testimony, Bondi acknowledged that most of what is in the transcripts is already known.

Two of Epstein’s victims questioned the motive of the Trump administration’s move to unseal the testimony.

“What you have done and continue to do is eating at me day after day as you help to perpetuate this story indefinitely,” the victims said.

Maxwell is also objecting to the release of the testimony.

“Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is not,” Maxwell’s lawyers wrote in a filing. “Whatever interest the public may have in Epstein, that interest cannot justify a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy in a case where the defendant is alive, her legal options are viable, and her due process rights remain.”

CNN reports that the Trump administration is considering releasing a transcript from a meeting last month between a top DOJ official who interviewed Maxwell in Florida. The interview happened before Maxwell, who is serving 20 years for sex trafficking, was transferred to a prison in Texas.

Bondi directed DOJ officials to open a grand jury investigation into how Obama administration officials handled intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard in recent weeks has declassified material alleging former Obama officials manipulated or manufactured intelligence to build a narrative that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to get Trump elected.

It’s unclear who is being targeted in the grand jury probe, but the administration has previously pointed the finger at former CIA chief John Brennan, former DNI James Clapper and former FBI Director James Comey, among others.

“Following the compelling case outlined by DNI Tulsi Gabbard, which exposed clear and blatant weaponization by corrupt intelligence officials acting at the behest of the Democrat Party and likely former President Obama, the Administration remains committed to conducting a thorough investigation,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said.

“This effort aims to provide the American people with the truth about the extent to which former government officials worked to sabotage the Trump administration and undermine the will of the American people in a clear attempt to subvert our Constitutional Republic,” Fields added.

Trump has publicly called for officials to be prosecuted, although he said Tuesday he had “nothing to do” with the initiation of a grand jury probe.

“I will tell you this, they deserve it. I was happy to hear it,” Trump told CNBC.

💡Perspectives:

• Racket: An open letter to the Columbia Journal Review.

• The Hill: Dem motion to subpoena Epstein file has legal, historical basis.

• Reason: Science needs dissent.

• Free Press: U.S. China hawks are hurting the U.S.

Read more: 

• Jeanine Pirro eyes guns, immigration as DC attorney.

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is also serving as interim NASA administrator, outlined the space agency’s fast-track plan to build a nuclear reactor on the moon.

   

• The billions of dollars Big Tech has poured into artificial intelligence (AI) development are paying off as companies show they can produce results, earning Wall Street’s stamp of approval. Palantir shares rose after reporting a 48 percent surge in revenue. CEO pay for some executives is growing by the billions, even as hardship overwhelms many American families.

   

• New Hampshire is the first Northeastern state to ban gender-affirming health care for minors after its Republican governor gave final approval to bills that will ban the use of certain prescription medications and surgeries to treat gender dysphoria beginning next year. 

©  Photo Credit

Texas Republicans are ramping up their efforts to crack down on the Democratic legislators who fled the state to stall a redistricting vote.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Tuesday sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel requesting support in locating the Democratic legislators, who he said are “potentially acting in violation of the law.”

“The FBI has tools to aid state law enforcement when parties cross state lines, including to avoid testifying or fleeing a scene of a crime,” Cornyn said.

“Governor Abbott and Texas state law enforcement officers are doing what they can within the confines of the law, but federal help may be necessary,” he added. “These legislators have committed potential criminal acts in their rush to avoid their constitutional responsibilities and must be fully investigated and held accountable.”

About 50 state Democrats fled Texas over the weekend as they seek to deny the Legislature a quorum and run out the clock on a special session in which Republicans are seeking to draw more favorable maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

President Trump said Tuesday the GOP is “entitled” to five more House seats in Texas.

“We should have many more seats in California. It’s all gerrymandered,” he told CNBC. “And we have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas. I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats.”

The Texas House on Monday approved civil warrants for the missing lawmakers after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered their arrest.

Abbott has threatened to strip the Democrats of their seats, saying they’ve abdicated their duty. And he’s warned they will be in violation of federal election laws if they accept donations for the $500 daily fines they’re incurring for breaking quorum.

“This is a five-alarm fire for our democracy. Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in American history, and he has no plan for winning the upcoming midterm elections,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) told CNN. “So, he essentially is demanding that his cronies rig those elections for him in this corrupt scheme.”

The Democrats fled to blue states, including New York and Illinois, where the governors have held press conferences promising to protect them.

The move by Texas has sparked an arms race, with Democratic governors and lawmakers in California, New York and New Jersey promising to retaliate by redrawing their own maps to make them more friendly to Democrats.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is the latest to join the frenzy, although the state’s maps are already among the most gerrymandered in the country.

“In Illinois, we don’t sit on the sidelines,” said Stratton, who is running for Senate next year. “In Illinois, we don’t take kindly to threats, and in Illinois, we fight back. If Trump and Texas Republicans won’t play by the rules, we will look at every option available to stop their extreme power grab, and nothing will be off the table.”

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) plans to introduce a bill barring mid-decade redistricting. On Tuesday, Kiley called out Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), saying they need to be working to end the outbreak of tit-for-tat redistricting across the U.S.

“It’s not a good thing for either Democrats or Republicans. It’s certainly not a good thing for the country,” Kiley said. “So I think that the Speaker and Leader Jeffries need to show some leadership here to bring this chaos to an end, and I think that the bill that I have offered gives them the opportunity to do just that.” 

💡Perspectives:

• The Liberal Patriot: Sizing up Dem chances of winning back Congress.

• Salon: A “blue wave” is no sure thing.

• Washington Examiner: Rust Belt celebrates its renewal.

• Unherd: Democrats not backing away from Green New Deal.

• Working Life: A wealth tax: $414 billion for the people.

Read more: 

• Texas redistricting war escalates across the country.

• Texas becomes battleground for Democratic presidential hopefuls.

• Texas redistricting move would ‘trigger’ new California maps.

• Trump touts ruling upholding ID number check for Texas mail-in ballots.

• Early GOP rift emerges as Congress braces for shutdown fight.

©  Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Associated Press

President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Russia on Wednesday for what Ukraine is describing as Moscow’s “last chance” to reach a peace deal before the U.S. imposes new economic sanctions on Russia.

It’s unclear who Witkoff will meet with. A Kremlin spokesperson would not confirm or deny a potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday he had a “productive conversation” with Trump and  about ending the war.

“Today, we coordinated our positions – Ukraine and the United States,” Zelensky posted on X. “We exchanged assessments of the situation: The Russians have intensified the brutality of their attacks. President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities.”

NewsNation’s Robert Sherman is reporting from Ukraine this week. Watch his latest dispatch from the war-torn region here.

Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Putin for continuing the war on Ukraine.

The president imposed a Friday deadline on Russia to end the fighting or face new sanctions meant to isolate Moscow economically, although he’s been flexible with past deadlines.

Trump this week threatened new tariffs on India for continuing to buy Russian oil. China is another major buyer of Russian oil.

Trump has been escalating nuclear tensions with Russia, sending two U.S. submarines to the region in response to threatening rhetoric from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a top adviser to Putin.

Russia on Tuesday said it would no longer abide by a self-imposed moratorium on the deployment of nuclear-capable intermediate range missiles.

ELSEWHERE…

Trump said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that he’s bullish on reaching a trade deal with China, although the president is emphasizing that he’s not the one seeking a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“I don’t want it, he asked for a meeting and I’ll end up having a meeting before the end of the year mostly likely if we make a deal,” Trump said.

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and other top officials from Switzerland are en route to Washington in search of a trade deal, as tariffs have squeezed key Swiss industries, including chocolate and watchmaking.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that Republicans on Capitol Hill are growing anxious about the economy after last week’s poor jobs report.

“It definitely is indicative of a weakened economy, an economy that’s not acting in a robust fashion. I’ve all along felt like there’s a lag between tariffs and actual economic downturn,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said.

Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose tariffs of up to 250 percent on pharmaceutical imports, the highest rate he’s discussed to date. 

“We’ll be putting a, initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals,” Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“But in one year, one in a half years maximum, it’s gonna go to 150 percent, and then it’s gonna go to 250 percent, because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country,” he added.

MEANWHILE…

Trump is mulling potential replacements for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term is up early next year.

“Sometimes they’re all very good and then you put them in there and then they don’t do so good,” Trump told CNBC, swiping at Powell, who he tapped for the role during his first term.

One name is off the list: Trump said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is happy in his role and doesn’t want to leave.

During the CNBC interview, Trump also revived his claims of discrimination, saying several big banks have turned him away.

And he cheekily responded when asked if he’d seek a third term in the White House.

“Probably not,” Trump said.

💡Perspectives:

• The Hill: Facing facts about Trump and the jobs numbers.

• U.S. News: Trump’s tariff windfall ignites debate over spending

• Foreign Affairs: The Middle East’s new intermediaries.

• Wall Street Journal: Hamas starves Jews and Palestinians, Israel blamed.

• New Republic: American Jews’ Support for Israel Is Near Its Breaking Point.

Read more: 

• These are the top buyers of Russian oil.

• Trump’s labor statistics shakeup sparks anxiety over future economic data.

• Brazil Supreme Court orders house arrest for Trump ally Bolsonaro.

Someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up to get your own copy: TheHill.com/Evening. See you next time!