House Democrats release new images of Epstein’s private island home released
Democrats on the House oversight committee have this morning released never-before-seen images and video showing Jeffrey Epstein’s private island home.
A post on the committee’s X account said the material provided “a harrowing look behind Epstein’s closed doors”. “See for yourself. We won’t stop fighting until we end this cover-up and deliver justice for the survivors,” it reads.
The 10 pictures and four videos appear to show the inside of several bedrooms, bathrooms, a spa and a massage room in the house in the US Virgin Islands.
One room features what appears to be a yellow dentist’s chair in the middle and several masks – apparently of men’s faces – hanging on the walls.
Another depicts a landline phone with names written on speed dial buttons, some of which are redacted. There’s also a view of an office with a desk, bookshelves and armchairs, as well as a large chalkboard with the words “power” and “deception” written across it.
One of the shaky video clips takes a short tour around an en suite bathroom and bedroom. Another starts with a view of the sea, before the person filming walks to a swimming pool, featuring a bronze statue.
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Updated at 13.02 EST
Key events
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In the Oval Office alongside Trump today are transportation secretary Sean Duffy, as well as several GOP senators, including Marsha Blackburn, Ted Cruz, and Bernie Moreno. The House Republican Conference Chair, congresswoman Lisa McClain, is also in attendance.
“These rules are going to allow the automakers to make vehicles that Americans want to purchase, not vehicles that Joe Biden and (Pete) Buttigieg want them to build,” Duffy said of the rollback of the vehicle mileage rules today. “This is important for American jobs. The more cars we sell, the more jobs we have in this country.”
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Updated at 15.43 EST
Trump’s now speaking in the Oval Office. As we reported earlier, he’s terminating the Biden-era federal fuel standards.
“It put tremendous upward pressure on car prices, combined with the insane electric vehicle mandate,” Trump said today.
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Here’s a recap of the day so far
Democrats on the House oversight committee have this morning released never-before-seen images and video showing Jeffrey Epstein’s private island home. The 10 pictures and four videos appear to show the inside of several bedrooms, bathrooms, a spa and a massage room in the house in the US Virgin Islands. In a statement, the committee’s top Democrat, Robert Garcia, said the photos and videos collectively form a “disturbing look” into Epstein’s world and are being released to “ensure public transparency”.
Donald Trump announced today that he is pardoning representative Henry Cuellar, the House Democrat who was facing federal bribery and conspiracy charges alongside his wife, Imelda. The president said Cuellar was ultimately indicted for disagreeing with Joe Biden’s border policies. In response, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said the pardon for the Texas congressman was “the right outcome”, while Cuellar thanked Trump and said the decision “clears the air” and gives his family “a clean slate”.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it had started its much-anticipated immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans today. In a statement, the department said Operation Catahoula Crunch would target “criminal illegal aliens roaming free thanks to sanctuary policies”, and we’ve already started to see pictures of the arrests.
Meanwhile, embattled defense secretary Pete Hegseth remains under scrutiny today, after the Pentagon’s inspector general found that his use of Signal to share highly sensitive attack plans put the American military in jeopardy. CNN has the story, citing four sources familiar with the content of the classified report. According to the report, Hegseth “risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives,” when he used messaging app in March of this year to share highly sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Republicans on the House judiciary committee have subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith for a closed-door deposition on 17 December. The committee’s top Democrat, Jamie Raskin, said that decision to not let Smith address appear before the committee publicly was so GOP lawmakers “can spin, distort, and cherrypick his remarks”.
Meanwhile, Minneapolis officials are bracing for the city’s Somali community to be targeted in the coming days, after reports spread that ICE agents are due to start raids. Jamal Osman, a Somali-American city council member in Minneapolis, said that Donald Trump’s xenophobic rant in the White House on Tuesday, and the expected immigration crackdown have left his community fear-ridden. “I never thought there would be a time where I will tell my community to carry their passport around bc if you look Somali you might be stopped,” he said in an interview with CNN.
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Updated at 15.30 EST
Arrests begin in New Orleans immigration enforcement operation
We’ve started to get pictures as arrests begin in the sweeping immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans, known as “Catahoula Crunch”.
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Updated at 14.58 EST
House judiciary committee subpoenas former special counsel Jack Smith
The House judiciary committee has subpoenaed Jack Smith for a closed-door deposition on 17 December.
“Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter,” Republican chair Jim Jordan wrote to the former justice department official. Smith led investigations into Donald Trump’s role in the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol and into the president’s alleged retention of classified documents.
The committee’s top Democrat, Jamie Raskin, said that decision to not let Smith address appear before the committee publicly was so Republicans “can spin, distort, and cherrypick his remarks”.
He added:
Judiciary committee Republicans want to force the special counsel into the shadows of a backroom interrogation and subject him to the tiresome and loathsome partisan tactics of leak-and-distort, when the American public is demanding transparency and a public hearing.
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Updated at 14.45 EST
As New Orleans immigration enforcement begins, previous operations show limited success in arresting criminals
Lucy Campbell
Despite the Trump administration’s repeated insistence that it is pursuing “the worst of the worst” among people lacking legal status in the immigration crackdowns, most of the people detained in past operations have not had criminal histories.
In “Operation Charlotte’s Web” in Charlotte, North Carolina, fewer than 12% of those arrested were classified as criminals. In Chicago, more than 97% of immigrants detained in “Midway Blitz” had no criminal conviction.
The Guardian has also previously reported that immigrants with no criminal record are now the largest group in US immigration detention, according to government data. Research has also consistently shown that immigrants – including undocumented immigrants – are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States.
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Cuellar: ‘This pardon gives us a clean slate’
Following Donald Trump’s decision to pardon Democratic representative Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, the lawmaker has responded in a statement by thanking the president “for taking the time to look at the facts”.
Cuellar and his wife were indicted on federal bribery and conspiracy charges, and their trial was due to start next year. Earlier, Trump said that Cuellar was ultimately targeted by a “weaponized” justice department under Joe Biden for disagreeing with the former president’s border policy.
Today, the Texas congressman said the president’s decision “clears the air and lets us move forward for south Texas. This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on.”
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Updated at 13.52 EST
Earlier, my colleague Jakub Krupa was covering the latest reports out of Europe. In particular, the remarks from the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, who praised Donald Trump, noting that the US president is “the only one person in the whole world who was able to break the deadlock when it comes to war in Ukraine”.
However, Rutte said that lasting peace “is not something (that can be done) in a straight line”.
He added:
You need a proposal on the table. You need to have discussions, and we have seen the meetings in Geneva, in Miami, now yesterday in Moscow. It will be a step-by-step approach.
A reminder that Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, met with Vladimir Putin in Russia’s capital on Tuesday. As Jakub reports, the much-hyped talks in Moscow did not bring any results as Russia disagreed with the US proposals.
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Updated at 13.42 EST
Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war plans on Signal – report
Elsewhere, the embattled secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, is likely to be on the, er, defense again today after the Pentagon’s inspector general found that he “risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives, when he used Signal in March of this year to share highly sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen”. CNN has the story, citing four sources familiar with the content of the classified report.
The investigation was launched back in April after a bipartisan request from the Senate armed services committee when the allegations emerged, after a journalist was inadvertently added to the group chat. The Atlantic published the messages shared by Hegseth in the chat, which included operational details about strikes against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, such as launch times of F-18 fighter jets, bomb drop timings and naval Tomahawk missile launches – sent before the operation had been carried out.
It remains unclear if Hegseth declassified the information before sharing it with the other Trump officials – and the journalist – in the group chat. Two sources told CNN that “the repercussions of Hegseth’s action … are less clear since the IG concluded that the defense secretary has the authority to declassify information and Hegseth asserted he made an operational decision in the moment to share that information, though there is no documentation of such a decision”.
Sources also told CNN that Hegseth refused to sit for an interview with the inspector general and submitted his version of events in writing.
The report also states that Hegseth should not have used Signal and that senior defense department officials need better training on protocols, the sources told the outlet.
An unclassified version of the report is set to be publicly released tomorrow. The classified report was sent to Congress last night.
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Updated at 13.28 EST
Here are some of the pictures included in the release.
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Updated at 13.11 EST
In a statement, the committee’s ranking Democrat, Robert Garcia, said the photos and videos collectively form a “disturbing look” into Epstein’s world and are being released to “ensure public transparency”.
These new images are a disturbing look into the world of Jeffrey Epstein and his island. We are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and to help piece together the full picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes. We won’t stop fighting until we deliver justice for the survivors.
It’s time for President Trump to release all the files, now.
The files were provided after, on 18 November, the committee sent a request to the US Virgin Islands attorney general for information about investigations into Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell.
Garcia said the committee has also received records from JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank, and they “intend to release files to the public after review in the days ahead”.
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Updated at 12.50 EST
House Democrats release new images of Epstein’s private island home released
Democrats on the House oversight committee have this morning released never-before-seen images and video showing Jeffrey Epstein’s private island home.
A post on the committee’s X account said the material provided “a harrowing look behind Epstein’s closed doors”. “See for yourself. We won’t stop fighting until we end this cover-up and deliver justice for the survivors,” it reads.
The 10 pictures and four videos appear to show the inside of several bedrooms, bathrooms, a spa and a massage room in the house in the US Virgin Islands.
One room features what appears to be a yellow dentist’s chair in the middle and several masks – apparently of men’s faces – hanging on the walls.
Another depicts a landline phone with names written on speed dial buttons, some of which are redacted. There’s also a view of an office with a desk, bookshelves and armchairs, as well as a large chalkboard with the words “power” and “deception” written across it.
One of the shaky video clips takes a short tour around an en suite bathroom and bedroom. Another starts with a view of the sea, before the person filming walks to a swimming pool, featuring a bronze statue.
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Updated at 13.02 EST
Jeffries says Cuellar pardon is ‘right outcome’, adds that indictment against congressman was ‘very thin’
Top Democrat Hakeem Jeffries told CNN today that Donald Trump’s move to pardon Texas congressman Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, is the “right outcome”.
The House minority leader said that the indictment against his colleague was “very thin to begin with” and he believed the charges “were eventually going to be dismissed”.
Jeffries stopped short of praising the president for pardoning Cuellar, a 69-year-old Democrat was charged with bribery and conspiracy. “I don’t know why the president decided to do this,” he said. “I think the outcome was exactly the right outcome.” Jeffries went on to characterize Cuellar as “beloved” in his district – which includes the border towns of Laredo and Rio Grande City.
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Updated at 12.51 EST
Trump pardons Democratic congressman in federal bribery case
Donald Trump announced today that he is pardoning representative Henry Cuellar, the House Democrat who is facing federal bribery and conspiracy charges alongside his wife, Imelda.
In a post on Truth Social, the president said the couple would receive a “full and unconditional” pardon. He also called the case against Cuellar – in which the lawmaker and his wife were accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars to advance the interests of an Azerbijani oil company and a Mexico bank – an example of the Biden administration’s allegedly weaponized justice department. Trump said that Cuellar was only indicted for disagreeing with his predecessor’s border policies.
“Sleepy Joe went after the Congressman, and even the Congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda, simply for speaking the TRUTH,” the president wrote.
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Updated at 12.06 EST
GOP lawmakers demand answers on Hegseth’s defense of second strike on alleged drug boat
Several Republican lawmakers have weighed in since the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, explained the sequence of events leading up to the second military strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat in early September.
Hegseth has steadfastly denied a Washington Post report which said that he issued the directive to kill the remaining survivors on the vessel after the first strike. At Donald Trump’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Hegseth reaffirmed that the decorated US navy admiral Frank Bradley ultimately “sunk the boat and eliminated the threat”. Hegseth said that while he “watched that first strike” he did not “stick around for the hour or two hours” after.
“A couple of hours later, I learned that that commander had made the (decision), which he had the complete authority to do,” Hegseth said at the White House.
In response, GOP senator Rand Paul remained unconvinced with the administration’s explanation. “In this sense, it looks like they’re trying to pin the blame on someone else,” Paul told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday evening.
The Republican lawmaker from Kentucky, who is frequently at odds with the president, called out the series of responses since the Washington Post report. “On Sunday, Secretary Hegseth said he had no knowledge of this, and it did not happen,” Paul added. “And then the next day, from the podium at the White House, are saying it did happen. “So, either he was lying to us on Sunday, or he’s incompetent and didn’t know it had happened.”
Meanwhile, Republican senator Jim Justice of West Virginia said that a “two blow” operation made him “uncomfortable” in an interview with MS Now. He added that if the Pentagon did order a strike to kill survivors on the boat it would be “unacceptable”.
For his part, Roger Wicker, who chairs of the Senate armed services committee, said that members would conduct “vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances” in a statement last week. Admiral Bradley is also due to sit with top lawmakers on the both the House and Senate armed services committees for a classified briefing on Thursday about the events of 2 September.
Outgoing North Carolina senator Thom Tillis said that confirming last week’s reporting was crucial to determine next steps. “If it is substantiated, whoever made that order needs to get the hell out of Washington,” he said in an interview with CNN. “And if it is not substantiated, whoever the hell created the rage-bait should be fired.” Tillis cast a deciding vote to confirm Hegseth in January, a move that he’s since expressed regret over. “With the passing of time, I think it’s clear he’s out of his depth as a manager of a large, complex organization,” the retiring Republican said in an interview with CNN in July.
Coming to Hegseth’s defense amid the scrutiny, Republican senator Roger Marshall of Kansas said that he stood behind the Pentagon chief. “This is a war, and it’s ugly. War is never pretty. I want to gather all the facts,” he told MS Now’s Morning Joe. “Let’s gather the facts, but let’s not pronounce judgment here.”
Marshall went on to defend the strikes writ large: “We’re losing a couple hundred Americans every day to this drug poisoning, and I think that these strikes are slowing down the import of those deadly, deadly drugs.”
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Updated at 11.49 EST
A White House official confirms Fox News’ reporting earlier that Donald Trump will unveil a “reset” of federal fuel standards that were “heightened” under the Biden administration. A reminder that these are programs like the corporate average fuel economy (Cafe) standard, which include regulations for automakers to meet miles-per-gallon standards for their vehicles.
Trump will make the announcement at 2.30pm ET in the Oval Office.
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Updated at 11.27 EST
Hegseth speaks to new Pentagon ‘press corps’
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is now speaking to the new batch of reporters who comprise the Pentagon “press corps”, according to a photo posted to social media by far-right activist Laura Loomer.
“He’s taking everyone’s questions with no scripts and no pre planned questions,” Loomer wrote. “The attacks on Hegseth by the Fake News media are unfounded. He is taking EVERY question.”
The defense department saw a mass exodus of at least 30 major news outlets after they refused to sign a new restrictive press policy.
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Updated at 10.54 EST
Somali prime minister urges calm following Trump’s xenophobic White House rant
Faisal Ali
Somali officials have largely remained diplomatically tight-lipped about Donald Trump’s frequent verbal attacks on the Somali community in the US and on Somalia itself, a pattern of remarks that go right back to his first term.
In a statement today, Somalia’s prime minister, Hamza Barre, kept to that approach, noting that Trump had “insulted many countries, including Nigeria and South Africa”, while urging calm.
“There are things that do not need comment, we just leave them and move on. It is better to ignore than to make his words look like an issue,” Barre said.
Barre’s tone contrasted with the government’s earlier response to a previous string of attacks on congresswoman Ilhan Omar, during which Trump called her “SCUM” and described Somalia as “plagued by persistent poverty, hunger, resurgent terrorism, piracy, (and) decades of civil war”, after she criticised Charlie Kirk’s views, following his killing.
At the time, defence minister Moallim Fiqi, who is a more outspoken Somali official, said, Iif our daughter is being targeted because of her identity, we stand firmly by her side,” adding that Omar had “elevated both her own name and the name of her ancestral homeland to a place of prominence.”
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Updated at 10.07 EST
Per our earlier post about Matt Van Epps’ victory in Tennessee, Donald Trump weighed in late on Tuesday to congratulate the representative-elect.
“The Radical Left Democrats threw everything at him, including Millions of Dollars. Another great night for the Republican Party!!!” he wrote on Truth Social. The president had thrown his support behind Van Epps, who beat his progressive challenger, Aftyn Behn, by single digits.
While it’s a needed victory for the GOP, other congressional Republicans have said race foreshadows a bitter fight in the 2026 midterms.
“Tt’s going to be a turnout election, and the left will show up,” Republican senator Ted Cruz of Texas said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday. “Hate is a powerful motivator. They hate President Trump.”
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Updated at 09.38 EST
