White House says it would back forensic analysis of signature on Epstein letter – live | Trump administration

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Federal takeover of DC police set to expire today

Per my last post, today is the last day of Trump’s federal takeover of the DC police. On 11 August issued a “public safety emergency” and invoked section 740 of the Home Rule Act, which allows him to take control of the Metropolitan police department (MPD) for 30 days. To extend this period he would need congressional approval, something that lawmakers haven’t indicated is likely.

Last month, Trump said that violent crime in DC was “the worst it’s ever been”, despite data that shows the district experiencing a 30-year low. Now the president considers the district to be a “safe zone” now, and has frequently touted arrest numbers, misleading statistics, and anecdotes about how nation’s capital is “virtually crime free”.

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Donald Trump has no public appearances today, per his White House schedule.

On Tuesday, he ventured outside the gates of his official residence to show the impact of his crackdown on crime in DC. “We’re standing right in the middle of DC, which as you know about, over the last year, was a very unsafe place – over the last 20 years – and now it’s got virtually no crime,” Trump told reporters.

He dined at a nearby restaurant, but was confronted by several protesters chanting: “Free DC! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!”.

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Updated at 08.31 EDT

President Donald Trump had dinner Tuesday night at a seafood restaurant near the White House, promoting his deployment of the National Guard and federalizing the police force in an effort to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital.

His motorcade made the short distance to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on 15th Street in the northwestern quadrant of the city following weeks of the president boasting about mobilizing federal authorities and the military that he says have made Washington “a safe zone.”

Cheers were heard as the president stepped from his limo – though there was also a smattering of boos and chants from protesters opposing US policy in support of Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza, AP reported.

“We’re standing right in the middle of DC, which as you know about, over the last year, was a very unsafe place – over the last 20 years – and now it’s got virtually no crime,” Trump told reporters.

He added that he wouldn’t have stood out “in the middle of the street” as recently as a couple of months ago. The suggestion was farcical, however, and didn’t actually reflect whether crime levels had changed in Washington, since the president is always surrounded by heavy security wherever he goes.

After entering the restaurant, a video posted on social media showed Trump shaking hands with some diners inside. But he also stared for an extended period at a small group of protesters who held up miniature Gaza flags and chanted: “Free DC! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!”

The president moved closer to them and could be seen gesturing briefly, but didn’t appear to speak.

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Suspect in stabbing of Ukrainian woman in North Carolina charged with federal crime

The justice department on Tuesday charged a man accused of fatally stabbing a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina commuter train last month with a federal crime that could carry the death penalty.

The federal charge comes amid growing questions about why Decarlos Brown Jr was on the street despite 14 prior criminal arrests before he was accused of pulling out a knife and killing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in an apparently random attack captured on video.

The case has become latest flashpoint in the debate over whether cities such as Charlotte are adequately addressing violent crime, mental illness and transit safety. The Trump administration says the killing shows how local leaders, judges and policies in Democratic-led cities are failing to protect their residents from violent crime.

“Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream – her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people,” the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said in a statement. “We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence – he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”

Zarutska had been living in a bomb shelter in Ukraine before coming to to the US to escape the war, according to relatives, who described her as determined to build a safer life.

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Trump says he is ‘not thrilled’ about Israeli strike on Qatar

Donald Trump said on Tuesday Israel’s decision to strike Qatar was made by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and not by the Republican leader who added that a unilateral attack on Qatar does not serve American or Israeli interests.

Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike in Qatar on Tuesday, escalating its military action in the Middle East. The strike was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could further escalate tensions in a region already on edge, Reuters reported.

Trump said he directed US envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar the attack was coming but that it was too late to stop the strike. However, Qatar contradicted such claims from the White House, saying reports it got a heads-up before the attack were false and a phone call from a US official came when blasts were already being heard in the Qatari capital, Doha.

“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”

Hamas said five of its members were killed in the Israeli attack in Doha, including the son of Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya.

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Meanwhile, president Trump said on Tuesday his administration is continuing negotiations to address trade barriers with India and that he would talk to prime minister Narendra Modi, in a sign of a reset after weeks of diplomatic friction.

Trump, in a marked shift of tone, said he looked forward to speaking to Modi in the “upcoming weeks” and expressed optimism that they could finalize a trade deal, Reuters reported.

“I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries,” he said in a post on social media.

Modi reciprocated the optimism in a social media post on Wednesday, saying Washington and New Delhi “are close friends and natural partners.”

He said teams from both countries are working to conclude the trade discussions at the earliest.

“I am also looking forward to speaking with president Trump. We will work together to secure a brighter, more prosperous future for both our people,” Modi said.

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Trump considering restrictions on Chinese medicines, NYT reports

The US has been discussing severe restrictions on Chinese medicines, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing a draft executive order.

It comes as Trump urged EU officials on Tuesday to hit China with tariffs of up to 100% as part of a strategy to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a US official and an EU diplomat.

Trump also encouraged the European Union to slap India with similarly expansive tariffs, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

China and India are major purchasers of Russian oil and, as such, they play a vital role in keeping Russia’s economy afloat as it continues to pursue its expanded invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.

Trump made the request, which was conveyed via conference call, to EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan and other EU officials. The EU delegation is currently in Washington to discuss sanctions coordination.

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Jump in US greenhouse gas pollution pushed global emissions higher – report

A jump in greenhouse gas pollution in the US helped push global emissions higher in the first half of this year. This could be an omen of what’s to come, with Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuel agenda set to significantly slow down the emissions cuts required to avoid disastrous climate impacts, a new forecast has found.

The “most abrupt shift in energy and climate policy in recent memory” that has occurred since Trump re-entered the White House will have profound consequences for the global climate crisis by slowing the pace of US emissions cuts by as much as half the rate achieved over the past two decades, the Rhodium Group forecast states.

The US is still expected to reduce its planet-heat emissions by between 26% and 35% by 2035 compared with 2005 levels, according to the report. But this is well down from a 38% to 56% reduction by 2035, which Rhodium forecast just last year during Joe Biden’s presidency.

None of these scenarios will be sufficient to allow the US, the world’s largest historic emitter of carbon pollution, to play its full part in helping the world avert a worsening climate breakdown coming from 2C (3.6F) or more in global heating.

The US and other governments agreed a decade ago in Paris to avoid this threshold but are badly off-track in required emissions reductions, ahead of a key UN climate meeting in Brazil in November to thrash out new targets.

Even under the best-case scenario, whereby fossil fuels become much more expensive and cheap renewable energy is swiftly deployed, the US will cut its emissions by just 43% by 2040, Rhodium found – well below Biden’s own pledged target, since jettisoned by Trump.

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A judge in Michigan dismissed the felony charges against a slate of electors who falsely signed on to documents claiming Donald Trump won the 2020 election in the latest blow to efforts to hold the president and his allies accountable for attempting to overturn the results of the White House race he lost to Joe Biden.

Sixteen people were initially charged with eight felonies each related to forgery and conspiracy by the Democratic attorney general, Dana Nessel, in 2023, though one of them had his charges dropped after he agreed to cooperate with the prosecution. The fake electors in Michigan will not go to trial.

District court judge Kristen Simmons decided that the state had not provided “evidence sufficient to prove intent”, a requirement for fraud cases. She told a courtroom on Tuesday that the case did not involve the intent of those who orchestrated the scheme, like Kenneth Chesebro and other Trump attorneys – but those who actually signed the documents, Votebeat reported.

“I believe they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress,” Simmons said of those who signed the documents.

Nessel spoke against the decision in a press conference after, according to Michigan Advance. “The evidence was clear,” she said. “They lied. They knew they lied, and they tried to steal the votes of millions of Michiganders. And if they can get away with this, well, what can’t they get away with next?”

Trump supporters in seven swing states signed on as fake electors in the scheme. Some of the fake electors – and, in some cases, those who orchestrated the scheme – were charged for state crimes in five of those states.

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California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, used his State of the State address on Tuesday to celebrate California’s achievements on its 175th anniversary of statehood but also to criticize Donald Trump for “targeting our state” as it battled wildfires this year, accusing the president of a “relentless, unhinged California obsession”.

The Democratic governor delivered his annual message in the form of a letter to the state legislature, and a video, instead of an address. Newsom, widely seen as a potential presidential contender for 2028, also criticized the president and his policies for bringing chaos and disruption to California, without mentioning Trump by name.

“As I write to you, California is menaced by a federal administration that dismantles public services, punishes allies across the globe, and sweeps the rule of law into the gutter,” Newsom wrote in the letter. “They have thrown away decades of progress on clean air and water, sent the US military into the streets of our cities, and used extortion in an attempt to bully our businesses and world-class public institutions. But California, this uniquely blessed state, is standing up.”

The video version of the message showed news footage of federal officers streaming through a Los Angeles park this year, after Trump deployed national guard troops and active-duty marines to the city to quell protests against immigration raids that swept up US citizens as well as documented and undocumented immigrants.

A video message from California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, posted on his official social media accounts on Tuesday.

Newsom’s video also showed mass protests against the deployment of federal officers in LA as the governor said: “There’s reason to be optimistic on this anniversary. So many people are asserting their moral authority and raising their voices to stand up for the ideals this country was built on.

“We are now nine months into a battle to protect the values we hold most dear and to preserve the economic and social foundation we built for California,” Newsom added in his letter. “We are facing a federal administration built on incompetence and malicious ignorance, one that seeks the death of independent thinking.”

Newsom hasn’t done a formal address in a few years, a departure from decades of tradition, which Republican lawmakers have criticized him for.

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US supreme court clears way for Trump to withhold $5bn in foreign aid

The US supreme court on Tuesday temporarily halted a lower court’s order that the Trump administration spend nearly $5bn in congressionally appropriated foreign aid money that it is seeking to cancel.

The order from the conservative chief justice, John Roberts, comes amid legal wrangling over Donald Trump’s moves to aggressively downsize US support of global development and emergency response, which has resulted in the dismantling of USAID.

Late last month, Trump informed the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, that he would not spend $4.9bn in foreign aid that Congress had previously approved, decrying it as “woke, weaponized and wasteful spending”. The money was to go to United Nations organizations and peacekeeping operations, as well as development assistance and democracy-promotion projects.

The move was a “pocket rescission”, when a president announces they will not spend money shortly before the 30 September end of the federal fiscal year, preventing Congress from acting on his request within the 45-day timeframe and leaving the money unspent. It was the first time in 50 years such a rescission had been made.

Washington DC federal judge Amir Ali last week ordered the Trump administration to spend those funds, prompting an appeal to the supreme court. In his order, Roberts, who handles emergency petitions from Washington DC, gave the aid groups who sued the administration until Friday to file a response to his order.

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The US supreme court agreed on Tuesday to decide the legality of Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, setting up a major test of one of the Republican president’s boldest assertions of executive power that has been central to his economic and trade agenda.

The justices took up the justice department’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing most of his tariffs under a federal law meant for emergencies. The court acted swiftly after the administration last week asked it to review the case, which involves trillions of dollars in customs duties over the next decade.

The court, which begins its next nine-month term on 6 October, placed the case on a fast track, scheduling oral arguments for the first week of November.

The justices also agreed to hear a separate challenge to Trump’s tariffs brought by a family-owned toy company, Learning Resources.

The US court of appeals for the federal circuit in Washington ruled on 29 August that Trump overreached in invoking a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the tariffs, undercutting a major priority for the president in his second term. The tariffs, however, remain in effect during the appeal to the supreme court.

The levies are part of a trade war instigated by Trump since he returned to the presidency in January that has alienated trading partners, increased volatility in financial markets and fueled global economic uncertainty.

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US lawmakers call Russian drones entering Poland an ‘act of war’

Poland said early Wednesday that multiple Russian drones entered and were shot down over its territory with help from Nato allies, with US politicians describing it as “an act of war”.

Several European leaders said they believed Russia was intentionally escalating the war, and Nato was discussing the incident in a meeting. It came three days after Russia’s largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began, an attack that for the first time hit a key government building in Kyiv.

“Russia is attacking NATO ally Poland with Iranian shahid drones less than a week after President Trump hosted President Nawrocki at the White House,” South Carolina Republican representative Joe Wilson posted on X.

“This is an act of war, and we are grateful to NATO allies for their swift response to war criminal Putin’s continued unprovoked aggression against free and productive nations. I urge President Trump to respond with mandatory sanctions that will bankrupt the Russian war machine and arm Ukraine with weapons capable of striking Russia.”

Democrat senator Dick Durban accused Vladimir Putin of repeatedly violating Nato airspace and “testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations.”

“After the carnage Putin continues to visit on Ukraine, these incursions cannot be ignored,” he posted on X.

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Lisa Cook to remain at Federal Reserve while fighting Trump’s attempt to fire her, judge rules

A federal judge has ruled that Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook can stay in her post while suing Donald Trump over his unprecedented bid to fire her.

Cook is legally challenging the US president after he sought to remove her, citing unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud, amid an extraordinary campaign by his administration to strengthen its control over the US central bank.

She asked US district judge Jia Cobb to impose a temporary restraining order against Trump’s attempt to “immediately” dismiss her, pending further litigation. The administration has argued that Trump is able to fire Fed governors “for cause” and appoint replacements.

Trump has spent months attacking the Fed, where most policymakers – including Cook – have so far defied his calls for interest rate cuts. He has spoken of rapidly building “a majority” on the central bank’s board, calling into question the future of its longstanding independence from political oversight.

Trump moved to fire Cook after one of his allies, Bill Pulte, whom he tapped to lead the US Federal Housing Finance Agency, alleged she had claimed two different properties as primary residences when obtaining mortgages in 2021.

“How can this woman be in charge of interest rates if she is allegedly lying to help her own interest rates?” Pulte wrote on X. He referred the case to the Department of Justice for investigation.

After Cook declined to resign, Trump tried to remove her from the Fed’s board. The justice department is now looking into the allegations of mortgage fraud.

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Leaked Ice document shows worker detained in Hyundai raid had valid visa

José Olivares

At least one of the Korean workers swept up in a massive immigration raid on a Hyundai Motor factory site in Georgia last week was living and working legally in the US, according to an internal federal government document obtained by the Guardian.

Officials then “mandated” that he agree to be removed from the US despite not having violated his visa.

The document shows that immigration officials are aware that someone with a valid visa was among the people arrested during the raid at the Hyundai factory and taken to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention for removal proceedings, where the people arrested remained on Tuesday before expected deportation flights back to South Korea.

The document in question reports on the man’s case and was leaked exclusively to the Guardian. It was written by an Ice agent. The Guardian is redacting the identity of the man in question, who arrived in the US in June, because it has not been possible to reach him directly and it is unclear whether he has any legal representation.

The document says that immigration agents from Atlanta “determined that (redacted) entered into the United States in (redacted), with a valid B1/B2 visa and (redacted) was employed at HL-GA Battery Company LLC as a contractor from the South Korean company SFA. From statements made and queries in law enforcement databases, (redacted) has not violated his visa; however, the Atlanta Field Office Director has mandated (redacted) be presented as a Voluntary Departure. (Redacted) has accepted voluntary departure despite not violating his B1/B2 visa requirements.”

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Photo of novelty check suggests Epstein ‘sold’ Trump a woman for $22,500

Ramon Antonio Vargas

A scrapbook for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday released on Monday contains a photo of him holding a novelty check bearing Donald Trump’s signature, along with a note suggesting Epstein “sold” him a woman for $22,500, shedding further light on the longtime relationship between the president and the convicted sex offender.

The photo shows Epstein and Joel Pashcow, a longtime member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and a third figure, apparently a woman, whose face is redacted in the image, which was shared on social media by Democrats on the House oversight committee. The caption, apparently from Pashcow, reads: “Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women! Sells ‘fully depreciated’ (redaction) to Donald Trump for $22,500.”

Epstein “showed early ‘people skills’ too”, the caption continued. “Even though I handled the deal I didn’t get any of the money on the girl!”

The check is signed “DJ Trump” in a style that differs from most of his signatures at the time.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the woman was someone whom Epstein and the now two-time US president – whose middle initial is J – “socialized with” in the 1990s. The woman’s lawyer told the newspaper that she cut ties with Epstein around 1997 and had no romantic relationship with either Epstein or Trump, does not know Pashcow, and had no knowledge of the letter, which she called a “disgusting and deeply disturbing hoax”.

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White House would back forensic analysis of signature on Epstein letter

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics amid the ongoing furore over links between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, as the White House said it would support a forensic analysis of the signature on a letter purportedly given by the president to the convicted sex offender.

White House officials on Tuesday doubled down on their assertion that a sexually suggestive letter carrying what appeared to be Trump’s signature that was included in a birthday book for Epstein had not been signed by the president.

The letter, and its drawing of a naked woman’s torso, was part of a batch of documents released by the House oversight committee in response to a subpoena after its existence was first reported in July by the Wall Street Journal.

At a press briefing, Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, denied Trump’s involvement in the letter and added that the White House would support an expert review of the signature to determine whether it had been done by Trump’s hand.

“Three separate signature analysts who said this was not the president’s authentic signature and we have maintained that all along. The president did not write this letter, he did not sign this letter,” Leavitt said.

Multiple White House officials have sought to distance Trump from the 2003 note suggesting the signature did not resemble recent examples. But officials have declined to address the fact that before his time in office, Trump regularly used only his first name in signatures, stylized with a line extending from the last letter – and Trump’s signature on a letter from 1995 closely resembled the one found on the note to Epstein.

You can read our story here

In other developments:

President Trump said on Tuesday his administration is continuing negotiations to address trade barriers with India and that he would talk to prime minister Narendra Modi, in a sign of a reset after weeks of diplomatic friction. Trump, in a marked shift of tone, said he looked forward to speaking to Modi in the “upcoming weeks” and expressed optimism that they could finalize a trade deal.

Trump, however, has urged EU officials to hit China and India with tariffs of up to 100% as part of a strategy to pressure Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to a US official and an EU diplomat.

A federal judge has ruled that Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook can stay in her post while suing Trump over his unprecedented bid to fire her. Cook is legally challenging the US president after he sought to remove her, citing unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud, amid an extraordinary campaign by his administration to strengthen its control over the US central bank.

Trump said on Tuesday Israel’s decision to strike Qatar was made by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and not by the Republican leader who added that a unilateral attack on Qatar does not serve American or Israeli interests. Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike in Qatar on Tuesday, escalating its military action in the Middle East.

Trump had dinner Tuesday night at a seafood restaurant near the White House, promoting his deployment of the National Guard and federalizing the police force in an effort to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital. His motorcade made the short distance to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on 15th Street in the northwestern quadrant of the city following weeks of the president boasting about mobilizing federal authorities and the military that he says have made Washington “a safe zone.”

Poland shot down drones that entered its airspace on Wednesday, the first time a member of Nato is known to have fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine. South Carolina GOP representative Joe Wilson posted on X: “This is an act of war, and we are grateful to NATO allies for their swift response to war criminal Putin’s continued unprovoked aggression against free and productive nations.”

The justice department on Tuesday charged a man accused of fatally stabbing a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina commuter train last month with a federal crime that could carry the death penalty. The Trump administration says the killing shows how local leaders, judges and policies in Democratic-led cities are failing to protect their residents from violent crime.

The US supreme court on Tuesday temporarily halted a lower court’s order that the Trump administration spend nearly $5bn in congressionally appropriated foreign aid money that it is seeking to cancel. The order from the conservative chief justice, John Roberts, comes amid legal wrangling over Trump’s moves to aggressively downsize US support of global development and emergency response, which has resulted in the dismantling of USAID.

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Updated at 07.35 EDT